CJEM
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Multicenter Study
Barriers and facilitators to the implementation of rapid HIV testing in Canadian Emergency Departments: a mixed methods study.
1 in 7 Canadians with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) do not know their status. Patients at increased risk of HIV routinely access the emergency department (ED), yet few are tested, representing a missed opportunity for diagnosis and linkage-to-care. Rapid HIV testing provides reliable results within the same ED encounter but is not routinely implemented. The objective of this study was to identify barriers and facilitators to rapid HIV testing in Ontario EDs. ⋯ Implementation of rapid HIV testing in the ED is perceived to be important irrespective of practice location or profession. Intrinsic motivations to support underserved populations and providing linkage-to-care are novel insights to facilitate testing in the ED. Streamlined implementation, including clear testing guidelines and improved access to follow-up care, is felt to be necessary for implementation.
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Indigenous health equity interventions situated within emergency care settings remain underexplored, despite their potential to influence patient care satisfaction and empowerment. This study aimed to systematically review and identify Indigenous equity interventions and their outcomes within acute care settings, which can potentially be utilized to improve equity within Canadian healthcare for Indigenous patients. ⋯ Acute care settings, serving as the primary point of access to health care for many Indigenous populations, are well-positioned to implement health equity interventions such as cultural safety training, Indigenous knowledge integration, and optimization of waiting room environments, combined with sustainable evaluation methods. Participatory discussions with Indigenous communities are needed to advance this area of research and determine which interventions are relevant and appropriate for their local context.
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Meta Analysis
Anti-inflammatories as adjunct treatment for cellulitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Existing guideline recommendations suggest considering corticosteroids for adjunct treatment of cellulitis, but this is based on a single trial with low certainty of evidence. The objective was to determine if anti-inflammatory medication (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [NSAIDs], corticosteroids) as adjunct cellulitis treatment improves clinical response and cure. ⋯ Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/vkxae?view_only=fb4f8ca438a048cb9ca83c5f47fd4d81 .
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Direct transport from the scene of injury to a trauma centre reduces saves lives. In Ontario, paramedics use the field trauma triage standard (FTTS) to determine if a patient meets trauma bypass criteria. Recent studies have questioned the efficacy of the FTTS in identifying severely injured patients. The objective of this study was to determine the predictive performance of the FTTS on the need for trauma center care in patients who were transported to a trauma center. ⋯ The FTTS has fair performance in identifying the need for hospital-based and injury severity need. Systolic blood pressure less than 90 mmHg, Glasgow Coma Scale (motor) less than 6, and falls greater than 6 m were most predictive of trauma center need. Improving prehospital trauma triage is critical to ensure timely transport to a trauma centre.
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Proficiency in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (QIPS) methodologies has been identified as a standard of residency training. However, there is no consensus on how to achieve these competencies. We used Kern's model of curricular development to create a QIPS curriculum for the local Emergency Medicine (EM) residency training program. ⋯ The curriculum was delivered to a mix of local transition to practice residents and faculty members. Participants reported favorable outcomes and objectively demonstrated QIPS knowledge acquisition. This curriculum serves as a model that could be adapted by other residency training programs seeking to implement their own QIPS curricula.