The American journal of emergency medicine
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Comment Letter
Reply to: ECPR in acute aortic dissection - Really a no-go?
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Meta Analysis
The neutrophil-lymphocyte count ratio as a diagnostic marker for bacteraemia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Bacteraemia is a common cause of increased morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients, but its early diagnosis and identification are complicated. The neutrophil-lymphocyte count ratio (NLCR) has been suggested as a useful indicator for the diagnosis of bacteraemia. We performed this meta-analysis to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of the NLCR for bacteraemia. ⋯ The NLCR is an easy-to-collect marker for bacteraemia. However, the NLCR is inadequate, and only a combination of multiple biomarkers will improve its diagnostic accuracy for bacteraemia.
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Emergency Department (ED) utilization accounts for a large portion of healthcare services in the US. Disturbance of circadian rhythms may affect mental and behavioral health (MBH) conditions, which could result in increased ED visits and subsequent hospitalizations, thus potentially inducing staffing shortages and increasing ED wait time. Predicting the burden of ED admissions helps to better plan care at the EDs and provides significant benefits. This study investigates if increased ED visits for MBH conditions are associated with seasonality and changes in daylight savings time. ⋯ Data do not provide conclusive evidence of a uniform seasonal increase in ED visits for MBH conditions. Variation in ED MBH visits may be due to secular trends, such as socioeconomic factors. Future research should explore contemporaneous associations between time-driven events and MBH ED visits. It will allow for greater understanding of challenges regarding psychiatric patients and opportunities for improvement.