Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2019
Security interventions are frequently undocumented in emergency department clinical notes.
To compare the documentation of security interventions in ED presentations between clinical notes and security records. ⋯ The rate of documentation of security interventions in clinical notes was less than 50%. Documentation of critical information, including alerts and risks, in the clinical notes is an essential component of communication that the multi-disciplinary team use to ensure patient safety. Strategies aimed at improving the documentation of security interventions in clinical notes will help to optimise risk management and the safety of patients, staff and visitors along the continuum of care.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2019
Pre-hospital outcomes of adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrest of presumed cardiac aetiology in Queensland, Australia (2002-2014): Trends over time.
To describe temporal trends in incidence of pre-hospital outcomes from adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) of presumed cardiac aetiology attended by Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) paramedics between 2002 and 2014, by age, gender, geographical remoteness and socio-economic status. ⋯ Incidence of withholding resuscitation and ROSC sustained to hospital have independently increased over time. Factors of middle age, more rural location and lower socio-economic status should all be targeted in the development and implementation of future strategies.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2019
Diagnosis of urinary tract infection in older persons in the emergency department: To pee or not to pee, that is the question.
Doreen is a 79-year-old woman referred by her general practitioner to the ED for intravenous antibiotics for a urinary tract infection (UTI). She lives in a residential aged care facility (RACF) and staff report malodourous and cloudy urine. ⋯ On examination Doreen is frail with vital signs of: temperature 37.7°C, pulse 87 bpm, blood pressure 130/70; there is no suprapubic or flank tenderness. Do you perform a dipstick test on Doreen’s urine for a suspected UTI?