Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Multicenter Study
Trends and Characterization of Academic Emergency Department Patient Visits: A Five-year Review.
To meet the unique comparative data needs of academic emergency departments (EDs), we describe the recent 5-year national and regional trends for adult emergency patients' characteristics and operational parameters at academic emergency medical centers. ⋯ With a focus on larger academic institutions, differences were noted in the overall increases in volume and acuity. In this survey, participating institutions experienced increased volumes of patients with seemingly higher illness severity. While inroads have been made in LWBS rates, there has not been an overall decrease in total walkouts. The data reported here differed in many aspects compared to other benchmark surveys.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Randomized Clinical Trial of Intravenous Acetaminophen as an Analgesic Adjunct for Older Adults With Acute Severe Pain.
Older adults are at risk for undertreatment of pain. We examined intravenous (IV) acetaminophen as an analgesic adjunct to IV opioids in the care of older emergency department (ED) patients with acute severe pain. ⋯ In this randomized clinical trial, the addition of IV acetaminophen to IV hydromorphone as an adjunctive analgesic for acute, severe, pain in older adults provided neither clinically nor statistically superior pain relief when compared to hydromorphone alone within the first hour of treatment.
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Multicenter Study
Michigan Emergency Department Leader Attitudes Toward and Experiences With Clinical Pathways to Guide Admission Decisions: A Mixed-methods Study.
The objective was to characterize emergency department (ED) leader's attitudes toward potentially avoidable admissions and experiences with the use of clinical pathways to guide admission decisions, including the challenges and successes with implementation of these pathways. ⋯ Potential solutions to help avoid hospitalization from the ED include multidisciplinary clinical care pathways. Successful pathways emerged from bringing stakeholders from the ED, hospital, and health care community together. Additionally, emergency providers need systems and supports in place to help their patients navigate follow-up care in a timely fashion.