Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Triage is widely regarded as an essential function of emergency care (EC) systems, especially in resource-limited settings. Through a systematic search and review of the literature, we investigated the effect of triage implementation on clinical outcomes and process measures in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) emergency departments (EDs). ⋯ There is moderate quality of evidence supporting an association between the introduction of triage and a reduction in deaths and waiting time. Although the available data support the value of triage in LMIC EDs, the risk of confounding and publication bias is significant. Future studies will benefit from more rigorous research methods.
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Comment Letter
Predilection to Pursue Pulmonary Embolism in Young Females.
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Primary aldosteronism (PA) is a common but underdiagnosed secondary cause of hypertension. Emergency departments (EDs) often assess patients with severe hypertension or its sequelae, some of whom have underlying PA. We aimed to determine the proportion of patients presenting to the ED with hypertension who meet the Endocrine Society criteria for PA testing and the proportion who were screened. ⋯ As far as we are aware, our study is the first to evaluate PA testing in hypertensive patients who present to ED. More than 40% of adults presenting to the EDs with hypertension met the current criteria for testing for PA but only few were tested. These results emphasize that increased awareness of PA in the ED is needed to encourage opportunistic testing, referral, and treatment, especially in patients who present with hypertensive emergencies. Prospective studies are required to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of this.