Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2012
Perspectives of emergency department staff on the triage of mental health-related presentations: Implications for education, policy and practice.
To explore ED staff perceptions of the factors that influence accuracy of triage for people with mental health problems. ⋯ Clinical guidelines and training have been developed to support the use of the Australasian Triage Scale. Further evaluation of the application of this scale to assess mental health problems is indicated. Additional work is also required to reduce variance in urgency assignment based on staff knowledge and attitudes about the causes, assessment and early management of psychiatric disorders.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2012
Case ReportsInterstitial ectopic pregnancy presenting after failed termination of pregnancy.
Pregnant women frequently present to the ED for complaints related to the first trimester of pregnancy. The emergency physician must confirm the presence of an intrauterine pregnancy for many such complaints. ⋯ The ED physician identified an inappropriately thin endomyometrial mantle raising suspicion for the diagnosis of an interstitial pregnancy. The case illustrates the importance of this uterine wall measurement given the otherwise normal appearance of a pregnancy within the uterus.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2012
Analysis and impact of delays in ambulance to emergency department handovers.
Delays in the clinical handover of patient care from emergency medical services (EMS) to the ED because of ED crowding are a substantial problem for many EMS systems. This study was conducted to quantify handover delays experienced by the Ambulance Service of New South Wales (ASNSW), and to investigate patient and system factors associated with handover delay. ⋯ Handover delays are relatively common at the EMS/ED interface in New South Wales, and are most pronounced at large hospitals, in urban areas and during winter.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2012
Morbidity associated with amphetamine-related presentations to an emergency department: A record linkage study.
Amphetamine use is a global public health problem. We examined hospitalisations in a cohort of 138 patients who presented with an amphetamine-related problem to an ED in 2005. ⋯ Amphetamine-related presentations to the ED are associated with a significant cluster of hospitalisations around that episode. This is most prominent for psychiatric diagnoses, with a large increase in the total LOS in the year following cohort entry. Counselling less risky behaviour might decrease the burden of illness.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2012
Improving stress testing compliance following chest pain presentations to the emergency department.
To determine whether a booked appointment time improves early outpatient exercise stress testing (EST) guideline adherence in patients discharged from the ED following assessment for possible acute coronary syndrome (ACS). ⋯ Pre-booked appointment times for EST improve timely attendance among patients discharged from the ED with intermediate-risk ACS. Compliance might improve further with patient education.