Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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To use a geographic information system (GIS) and spatial statistics to describe the geographic variation of burn injuries in children 0-14 years of age in a major metropolitan area. ⋯ This study shows the utility of geographic mapping in providing information about injury patterns within a defined area. The combination of mapping injury rates and spatial statistical analysis provides a detailed level of injury surveillance, allowing for identification of small geographic areas with elevated rates of specific injuries.
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Comparative Study
The effect of a new emergency medicine residency program on patient length of stay in a community hospital emergency department.
It is not clear how emergency medicine residents affect emergency department (ED) efficiency. The objective of this study was to determine whether a new emergency medicine residency program affected the length of stay (LOS) of patients in a community hospital ED. ⋯ In this ED, there was a weak, positive correlation between ED patient length of stay and the presence of PGY-3 emergency medicine residents.
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This study evaluated a sample of emergency department (ED) patients for history of violence and substance abuse. ⋯ A large percentage of injured patients in this urban ED experienced violence in the past year. Alcohol and illicit drugs appear to be concomitant with violence.
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To determine the effect of simultaneous ambulance diversion at multiple emergency departments (EDs) (gridlock) on transport delays for patients with chest pain. ⋯ Ambulance diversion was associated with delays in out-of-hospital ambulance transport for chest pain patients, but only when it resulted in gridlock. The magnitude of the out-of-hospital delay was the same regardless of the patient's severity of illness.