The American journal of emergency medicine
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Multicenter Study
Opioid prescribing patterns in emergency departments and future opioid use in adolescent patients.
Evidence suggests that exposure to opioids in adolescence increases risk of future opioid use. We evaluate if exposure to high versus low intensity opioid prescribers in the Emergency Department (ED) influences the risk of future opioid use in adolescents. ⋯ We found no association between high intensity opioid prescribers and recurrent 12 month use of opioids in opioid-naïve adolescents seen in the ED. This likely reflects various factors that put adolescents at risk for recurrent opioid use and may indicate the importance of the second prescription from primary care after initial exposure to opioids.
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Sepsis is a significant public health crisis in the United States, contributing to 50% of inpatient hospital deaths. Given its dramatic health effects and implications in the setting of new CMS care guidelines, ED leaders have renewed focus on appropriate and timely sepsis care, including timely administration of antibiotics in patients at risk for sepsis. ⋯ A retrospective cohort analysis was performed, with the primary finding that utilization of the Sepsis Huddle resulted in antibiotics being administered on average 41 min sooner than when the Sepsis Huddle was not performed. Given that literature suggests that early administration of appropriate antibiotic therapy is a major driver of mortality reduction in patients with sepsis, this study represents a proof of concept that utilization of a Sepsis Huddle may serve to improve outcomes among ED patients at risk for sepsis.