The American journal of emergency medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Comparison of chest compression interruption times across 2 automated devices: a randomized, crossover simulation study.
The goal of this study was to compare chest compression interruption times required to apply, adjust, and remove 2 different automated chest compression (ACC) devices using the same evaluation protocol. ⋯ The results of this study trended in favor of AutoPulse. However, the interruption in chest compression to apply either device to the patient was notably longer than the maximum interruption time recommended by the American Heart Association.
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Observational Study
Assessing patient activation and health literacy in the ED.
Low health literacy and patient activation are linked to unmet health needs, excess emergency department (ED) use, and hospital admission. However, most studies have assessed these measures in non-ED populations. ⋯ This is the first study to assess Patient Activation Measure in the ED. Low activation levels and limited REALM scores assessed in the ED population were significantly associated with hospital admission. Assessing activation levels of ED patients could lead to better education and tailored discharge planning by ED clinicians potentially reducing ED revisits.
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We examined trends in the use of observation services and the relationship between index service type (observation services, emergency department [ED] visits, inpatient stays) and both clinical outcomes and Medicare payments. ⋯ Patients treated in observation are less likely than those treated in the ED or as inpatients to have an adverse event within 30 days. Adjusted Medicare payments, including the index stay and the subsequent 30 days, were substantially less for those treated in observation as compared with those treated as inpatients, but more than for those treated and released from the ED. Higher rates of observation service use do not appear to be negatively affecting patient outcomes and may lower costs relative to inpatient treatment.