Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2020
What proportion of healthcare worker masks carry virus? A systematic review.
Concerns have been raised by healthcare organisations in New Zealand that routine mask use by healthcare workers (HCW) may increase the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through increased face touching. Routine mask use by frontline HCW was not recommended when seeing 'low risk' patients. The aim of this review was to determine the carriage of respiratory viruses on facemasks used by HCW. ⋯ Although limited, current evidence suggests that viral carriage on the outer surface of surgical masks worn by HCW treating patients with clinical respiratory illness is low and there was not strong evidence to support the assumption that mask use may increase the risk of viral transmission.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2020
Observational StudyFactors associated with emergency medical service delays in suspected ST-elevation myocardial infarction in Victoria, Australia: A retrospective study.
To assess the effect of patient and system characteristics on emergency medical service (EMS) delays prior to arrival at hospital in suspected ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). ⋯ A range of patient and system factors may influence EMS delays in STEMI. However, optimising dispatch prioritisation and widespread availability of prehospital 12-lead ECG could lead to substantial reduction in time to treatment.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2020
Patients presenting for hospital-based screening for COVID-19: risk of disease, and healthcare access preferences.
Early during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Australian EDs experienced an unprecedented surge in patients seeking screening. Understanding what proportion of these patients require testing and who can be safely screened in community-based models of care is critical for workforce and infrastructure planning across the healthcare system, as well as public messaging campaigns. ⋯ While capacity building in acute care facilities is an important part of pandemic planning, it is also important that patients not needing hospital level of care can be assessed and treated elsewhere. We have identified a significant proportion of people at this early stage in the pandemic who have sought healthcare at hospital but who might have been assisted in the community had services been available and public health messaging structured to guide them there.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2020
Observational StudyProspective study of the safety and effectiveness of droperidol in elderly patients for pre-hospital acute behavioural disturbance.
Acute behavioural disturbance in the elderly (≥65 years) is a significant issue for emergency medical services with increasing prevalence of dementia and aging populations. We investigated the pre-hospital safety and effectiveness of droperidol in the elderly with acute behavioural disturbance. ⋯ Droperidol appeared to be safe and effective for pre-hospital sedation of acute behavioural disturbance in elderly patients.