Annals of emergency medicine
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Editorial Practice Guideline
Pediatric mental health emergencies in the emergency medical services system. American College of Emergency Physicians.
Emergency departments (EDs) are vital in the management of pediatric patients with mental health emergencies (MHE). Pediatric MHE are an increasing part of emergency medical practice because EDs have become the safety net for a fragmented mental health infrastructure which is experiencing critical shortages in services in all sectors. ⋯ EDs must address not only the physical but also the mental health needs of patients during and after mass casualty incidents and disasters. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Emergency Physicians support the following actions: advocacy for increased mental health resources, including improved pediatric mental health tools for the ED, increased mental health insurance coverage, adequate reimbursement at all levels; acknowledgment of the importance of the child's medical home, and promotion of education and research for mental health emergencies.
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I describe how annual hospital surge capacity is affected by within-year variation in patient volume and bed supply. ⋯ Annual bed statistics give a misleading picture of hospital surge capacity. Analysis of surge capacity should account for daily variation in patient volume and within-year variation in bed supply.
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Young infants with bronchiolitis are at risk for apnea. We seek to determine the rate of apnea in young infants with bronchiolitis and evaluate the performance of a predefined set of risk criteria for identifying infants at high risk for the development of apnea. ⋯ The rate of apnea among young infants hospitalized with bronchiolitis is low. Our clinical risk criteria successfully identified a low-risk group of infants whose risk of apnea is less than 1%.
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Editorial Practice Guideline
Emergency ultrasound imaging criteria compendium. American College of Emergency Physicians.