The American journal of emergency medicine
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Meta Analysis
The utility of S100B level in detecting mild traumatic brain injury in intoxicated patients.
S100B is a serum protein known to elevate in patients with brain injury, but it is unknown whether it can predict intracranial pathology in intoxicated patients following mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the English language literature to address this question. ⋯ Serum S100B levels may have utility in ruling out intracranial pathology in intoxicated patients, however more study and comparison with other serum biomarkers of brain injury are necessary before this becomes the accepted standard of care.
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Patients who present to emergency departments (EDs) for evaluation but are noted to have left without being seen (LWBS) are potentially at great risk. Governmental agencies, such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, as well as hospitals and health organizations, are examining the factors which drive LWBS, including accurately quantifying patient tolerance to wait times and targeting interventions to improve patient tolerance to waiting. ⋯ Compared to traditional methods, RTLS is an efficient and accurate way to measure LWBS rates and helps set the stage for assessing the efficacy of interventions to reduce LWBS and reduce the gap between those seeking evaluation at emergency departments and those ultimately receiving it.