Annals of emergency medicine
-
Challenges in transitioning from obstetric to primary care in the postpartum period may increase emergency department (ED) visits. This study described the frequency, characteristics, and predictors of maternal ED visits in the postpartum period. ⋯ Almost one third of ED visits in the postpartum occurred within 6 weeks immediately after delivery. Potential gaps in equitable access and quality of prenatal care should be bridged by appropriate transitions to primary care in the postpartum period.
-
The use of social media by health professionals is widespread. However, there is a lack of training to support the effective use of these novel platforms that account for the nuances of an effective health and research communication. We sought to identify the competencies needed by health care professionals to develop an effective social media presence as a medical professional, with the goal of building a social media curriculum. ⋯ We identified 46 items that were believed to be important for health care professionals using social media. This list should inform the development of curricular activities and objectives.
-
Chest ultrasonography has been reported as an accurate imaging modality and potentially superior to chest radiographs in diagnosing traumatic rib fractures. However, few studies have compared ultrasonography to the reference standard of computed tomography (CT), with no systematic reviews published on the topic to date. Our objective was to summarize the evidence comparing the test characteristics of chest ultrasonography to CT in diagnosing rib fractures. ⋯ Chest ultrasonography is both sensitive and highly specific in diagnosing rib fractures following blunt trauma.
-
Emergency department (ED) evaluations for syncope are common, representing 1.3 million annual US visits and $2 billion in related hospitalizations. Despite evidence supporting risk stratification and outpatient management, variation in syncope hospitalization rates persist. We sought to develop a new quality measure for very low-risk adult ED patients with syncope that could be applied to administrative data. ⋯ In summary, our novel syncope quality measure can assess variation in low-value hospitalizations for unexplained syncope. The application of this measure could improve the value of syncope care.