Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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EDs are noisy and the noise levels exceed regulatory recommendations. Noise distracts us during any task and can saturate our attentional demand and impair our thinking and decision-making. This is a systematic problem that is consistently ignored by accreditation bodies. ⋯ Noise is a patient safety issue, as excessive noise impairs good communication, which is essential for patient care. Good acoustic design and management is achievable, but needs to be explicitly assessed as a part of accreditation standards. This would promote wellness for both patients and staff.
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Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2020
Multicenter Study Observational StudyImaging and admission practices in paediatric head injury across emergency departments in Australia and New Zealand: A PREDICT study.
Variation in the management of paediatric head injury has been identified worldwide. This prospective study describes imaging and admission practices of children presenting with head injury across 10 hospital EDs in Australia and New Zealand. ⋯ Across the 10 largely tertiary EDs included in this study, the overall CTB rate was low with no significant variation between sites when adjusted for ciTBIs.
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Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2020
Initiation of vasopressor infusions via peripheral versus central access in patients with early septic shock: A retrospective cohort study.
To assess whether the initiation of vasopressor infusions via peripheral venous catheters (PVC) compared to central venous catheters (CVC) in ED patients with early septic shock was associated with differences in processes of care and outcomes. ⋯ The practice of commencing a vasopressor infusion via a PVC was common in the ARISE trial and more frequent in trial participants with higher severity of illness. Commencement of a vasopressor infusion via a PVC was associated with some improvements in processes of care and, after adjustment, was not associated with an increased risk of death.
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Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2020
Observational StudyEmergency healthcare delivery for young adults during a planned mass gathering: A retrospective observational study.
To describe patient presentation characteristics and outcomes for people aged 16-18 years pre, during and post a planned youth mass gathering event (MGE): 'Schoolies week' on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. ⋯ Establishment of an in-event model of care for 1 week during Schoolies served as an effective hospital avoidance strategy for a planned youth MGE. Such in-event models of care may be considered for other similar future MGE.