Annals of emergency medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Effect of visual cues, vital signs, and protocols on triage: a prospective randomized crossover trial.
We sought to compare triage designations derived from in-person and telephone interviews and systematically examine the effect of visual cues, vital signs, and complaint-based protocols on the triage process. ⋯ These data establish that telephone and in-person triage are not equivalent and suggest that visual cues may play an important role in the triage process. It is unclear whether telephone triage is an adequate method of assigning patients to an appropriate level of care.
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Emergency medicine has developed rapidly in South Korea in the past decade, giving Korea one of the most advanced systems of emergency medical care in Asia. This article reviews the overall health care system and medical climate in Korea, as well as the great progress made in establishing emergency medicine as a specialty. It also describes the many improvements implemented in academic emergency medicine, emergency patient care, and emergency medicine management systems. Although the current economic crisis offers new challenges, much optimism remains about the future of this new Korean specialty.
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The objectives of this study were as follows: (1) to determine whether clinical symptoms and signs of brain injury are sensitive indicators of intracranial injury (ICI) in infants admitted with head trauma, (2) to describe the clinical characteristics of infants who have ICI in the absence of symptoms and signs of brain injury, and (3) to determine the clinical significance of those ICIs diagnosed in asymptomatic infants. ⋯ We found that 19 of 101 ICIs in infants admitted with head trauma were clinically occult. All 19 occult ICIs occurred in infants younger than 12 months of age, and 18 of 19 had skull fractures. None experienced serious neurologic deterioration or required surgical intervention. Physicians cannot depend on the absence of clinical signs of brain injury to exclude ICI in infants younger than 1 year of age.
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To design and implement a plan for emergency department staffing and additional space to reduce waiting time and the rate of patients leaving without being seen during the viral epidemic season. ⋯ VESAS, a plan for providing space and personnel to handle an increased volume of patients that can be activated on the basis of hourly census data, was successful as judged by waiting times and percentage of patients who left without being seen.