Annals of emergency medicine
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The traditional (and unvalidated) five-point Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) score at hospital discharge does not correlate with the results yielded by a validated functional status instrument and subjective quality-of-life assessment. ⋯ The CPC score, relied on as a measure of functional outcome in cardiac arrest, correlates poorly with subsequent subjective quality of life and with validated objective functional testing instruments, and conclusions based on it are suspect. Future researchers should employ standardized testing instruments.
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To report the distribution of emergency department costs by category of expense and level of patient urgency. ⋯ The distribution of ED costs varies significantly according to the urgency of the medical condition. For nonurgent patient visits, most costs are represented by the hospital facility and ED physicians' costs. Ancillary services represent a much greater proportion of costs for patients with urgent conditions. Although reduced test-ordering might result in some savings among patients with urgent conditions, overall improved cost efficiency can be achieved only through reductions in the fixed costs of operation of hospital EDs.