Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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To report the incidence of fever among patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. ⋯ In an Australian hospital, screening for fever lacked sensitivity for detection of patients with SARS-CoV-2.
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Australian hospitals have prepared for a major surge in patients due to the infectious respiratory pandemic COVID-19. In other nations, patient presentations have overwhelmed resources. ⋯ In this article, we will describe three lung ultrasound algorithms for the emergency diagnosis of patients presenting with respiratory symptoms during a COVID-19 pandemic: (i) LUSC19: lung ultrasound to assess the severity of COVID-19; (ii) LUSAC: lung ultrasound to exclude alternative causes of respiratory distress; and (iii) LUSI: lung ultrasound following intubation. We anticipate that emergency physicians will use these algorithms during the upcoming respiratory pandemic to rapidly determine the severity of COVID-19 infection, to seek and treat significant alternative diagnoses and ensure endotracheal intubation.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2020
Specialised vestibular physiotherapy in the emergency department: A pilot safety and feasibility study.
To evaluate the safety and feasibility of vestibular physiotherapy in the ED, and its impact on adherence to evidence-based clinical practice. ⋯ The results of the present study support extending the role of physiotherapists to managing peripheral vestibular dysfunction in the ED.
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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.