Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2020
Predictors and in-hospital mortality associated with prolonged emergency department length of stay in New South Wales tertiary hospitals from 2017 to 2018.
To determine specific patient, clinical and service factors associated with increased ED length of stay and investigate whether prolonged ED length of stay, as measured by emergency treatment performance (ETP) non-compliance, is an independent predictor of all cause 30-day mortality for patients presenting to, and admitted from ED. ⋯ Patients with complex and multiple medical comorbidities, and those admitted under certain service-related groups such as psychiatry, surgery and oncology were found to have poorer ETP performance. Overall, failure to meet ETP was associated with increased mortality after adjusting for age, case-mix, comorbidities and acuity.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2020
Predictive values of haematuria and hydronephrosis in suspected renal colic: An emergency department retrospective audit.
To determine the predictive values of haematuria and hydronephrosis in suspected renal colic. ⋯ This audit suggests that a diagnostic strategy relying on the absence of haematuria or hydronephrosis, or both, to rule out ureteric calculi may result in a small number of stones being missed.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2020
General practitioner-type patients in emergency departments in metro North Brisbane, Queensland: A multisite study.
To estimate the proportion of ED patients in urban Queensland who are potentially suitable for general practitioner (GP) care. ⋯ There is considerable variation in what is considered GP-type ED presentations based on the three methods employed and this variation may have fuelled the debate surrounding what is 'avoidable' ED utilisation. Regardless, the study findings provide an interesting addition to defining and addressing appropriate utilisation of ED services.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2020
Emergency department presentations with a mental health diagnosis in Australia, by jurisdiction and by sex, 2004-05 to 2016-17.
To examine trends in ED presentations with a mental health diagnosis (MHdx ) in Australia by jurisdiction and by sex, between 2004-05 and 2016-17. ⋯ The proportion of ED presentations for MH conditions, narrowly defined, has increased in all Australian jurisdictions between 2004-05 and 2016-17, but particularly since 2010-11. Differences between jurisdictions indicate jurisdictional specific issues. However, significant or upward trend of MHdx presentations across all jurisdictions indicates generic issues necessitating concern and policy development at a national level.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2020
ReviewReview article: A primer for clinical researchers in the emergency department: Part XI. Inertia before investigation: Pre-test probability in emergency medicine.
In this series, we address research topics in emergency medicine. Rational clinical decision making is based on knowledge of the disease prevalence, clinical assessment features and test characteristics such as sensitivity and specificity. The concept of pre-test probability is important as it will allow the clinician and patient decide together if a 'test threshold' or 'treatment threshold' has been reached, or if further investigations are required to make such a decision. This research primer uses three case scenarios to explore these concepts.