Irish journal of medical science
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The reconfiguration of many Irish stand-alone psychiatric units has led to many patients in acute mental health need now being assessed in emergency departments (EDs). This has implications for ED resources and raises questions about appropriate assessment location for this group. ⋯ Removing a direct community access point for this group resulted in a substantial increase in ED presentations, many of which did not have physical needs. This study has implications for future policy to address the needs of this group, especially in light of the pandemic.
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Pain can be considered an early sign of COVID-19 infection. There are no studies that specifically investigate the frequency, characteristics, and presentation patterns of pain in COVID-19 infection. ⋯ The most common pain symptoms were myalgia/arthralgia and headache (69.17% and 50.37%) and found to be much higher than previously reported. Pain is one of the most common complaints of admission to the hospital in patients with COVID-19. Patients who apply to health institutions with pain complaints should be evaluated and questioned in suspicion of COVID-19 infection.
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Postauricular steroid administration has been popular for treating sudden sensorineural hearing loss. However, there are few reports on its use in patients with refractory sudden sensorineural hearing loss (RSSNHL). ⋯ The present findings suggest that postauricular corticosteroid administration as a salvage treatment demonstrated better results than no treatment for RSSNHL patients. The time interval from onset to study entry was mainly the prognostic factor for RSSNHL patients. It is therefore considered that postauricular corticosteroid administration may be used as a salvage therapy for RSSNHL patients.