European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Characteristics of older frequent users of Emergency Departments (EDs) are poorly understood. Our aim was to examine the characteristics of the ED frequent attenders (FAs) by age (under 65 and over 65 years). ⋯ One-in-five ED patients older than 65 years of age are FAs. Older FAs largely present with complex medical conditions. Enhanced access to expert gerontology assessment should be considered as part of effective intervention strategies for older ED users.
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Laypersons often hesitate to perform basic life support (BLS) and use an automated external defibrillator (AED) because of self-perceived lack of knowledge and skills. Training may reduce the barrier to intervene. Reduced training time and costs may allow training of more laypersons. The aim of this study was to compare BLS/AED skills' acquisition and self-evaluated BLS/AED skills after instructor-led training with a two-stage versus a four-stage teaching technique. ⋯ Teaching laypersons BLS/AED using the two-stage teaching technique was noninferior to the four-stage teaching technique, although the pass rate was -2% (95% confidence interval: -18 to 15%) lower with the two-stage teaching technique.
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To better match hospital resources to patients' needs of trauma care, a protocol for facilitating in-hospital triage decisions was implemented at a Swedish level I trauma centre. In the protocol, physiological parameters, anatomical injuries and mechanism of injury were documented, and used to activate full or limited trauma team response. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the criteria-directed protocol to determine in-hospital trauma triage in an emergency department. ⋯ A criteria-directed protocol for use in the emergency department was efficient in reducing overtriage rates without risking undertriaged patients' safety.
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Our main objective was to assess patient and family members' perception of bad news communication in the emergency department (ED) and compare these with physicians' perceptions. ⋯ Doctors and receivers disagree in relation to what transpired throughout bad news communications. Discrepancies were more evident in issues involving emotion, invitation, and privacy. An important agreement between perceptions was found in technical and knowledge-related aspects of the communication.
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Observational Study
Prospective evaluation of clinical lung ultrasonography in the diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia in a pediatric emergency department.
To evaluate the applicability and utility of point-of-care lung ultrasonography (POCLUS) for the diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in a pediatric emergency department. ⋯ POCLUS performed by an emergency pediatrician with a limited experience in ultrasonography enables the diagnosis of pneumonia with high accuracy. POCLUS could become a feasible and promising alternative to CR in the diagnosis of suspected CAP, leading to a relevant decrease in children's exposure to ionizing radiations. Further studies specifically carried out in the pediatric outpatient setting are needed.