The American journal of emergency medicine
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Observational Study
Pediatric emergency department utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.
This study describes the utilization of a pediatric emergency department (ED) during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the initial U.S. epicenter, including the impact on visit acuity and incidences of common diagnoses. ⋯ Pediatric ED utilization substantially deceased during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, but left relatively higher patient acuity. Healthcare systems in early epicenters must also prepare for the disproportionate impact a pandemic has on the most vulnerable pediatric patients, particularly those at risk for self-harm or abuse.
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Comparative Study
Comparison of physician-staffed helicopter with ground-based emergency medical services for trauma patients.
Few studies have discussed whether physician-staffed helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) provide temporal and geographical benefits for patients in remote locations compared to ground emergency medical services (GEMS). Our study seeks to clarify the significance of HEMS for patients with severe trauma by comparing the mortality of patients transported directly from crash scenes by HEMS or GEMS, taking geographical factors into account. ⋯ HEMS may provide equal treatment opportunities and minimize trauma deaths for patients transported from a greater distance to an emergency medical center compared to GEMS for patients transported from nearby regions.
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While high-sensitivity (hs) troponin (cTn) has been associated with shorter emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS) and decreased hospital admissions outside the United States (US), concerns have been raised that it will have opposite effects in the US. In this study, we aimed to compare ED LOS, admissions, and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) diagnoses before and after the implementation of hs-cTn. ⋯ In this single-center study, transition to hs-cTn was associated with an increased ED LOS, decreased admissions, and no substantial change in cardiac risk stratification testing, cardiology consultation, or ACS diagnoses.
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Observational Study
Clinical validation demonstrates concordance of qSOFA and POC lactate Bayesian model: Results from the ACDC Phase-2 program.
Sepsis is a common and lethal medical problem. The objective of this study was to validate a Bayesian Model that integrates qSOFA and prehospital Lactate, with a comparison analysis from a real clinical data of patients with sepsis.