European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
A randomized-controlled trial of a patient-centred intervention in high-risk discharged older patients.
The risk of early reattendance after discharge has been proposed as a performance indicator for emergency departments (EDs), but is not uniform in all patients. Those individuals at the highest risk of reattendance may benefit from an intense intervention to reduce this risk, and our objective was to test this hypothesis in a clinical trial. ⋯ This postdischarge intervention was associated with only small and nonsignificant reductions in ED reattendance.
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Emergency department (ED) crowding is a serious international public health issue with a negative impact on quality of care. Despite two decades of research, there is no consensus on the indicators used to quantify crowding. The aim of our study was to select the most valid ED crowding indicators. ⋯ Our study results enable the construction and validation of a crowding measuring tool from indicators approved by experts. It is necessary to further reflect about ED crowding as a concept and what is expected from a complex score.
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In 2015, the Israeli Ministry of Health issued national guidelines demanding the use of a five-level triage system in pediatric emergency departments (EDs). The present study aimed to evaluate the validity of the Pediatric Canadian Triage Acuity Scale (PedCTAS) in the ED of a tertiary children's hospital in Israel. ⋯ Triage level was predictive of hospitalization, admission to the ICU, and proportions of LWBS and LOS in the ED. The findings suggest validity of the PedCTAS in this cohort. This is the first report of the performance of a triage tool in an Israeli ED.
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Worsening renal function (i.e. any increase in creatinine or decrease in the estimated glomerular filtration rate) is common in patients admitted for acute heart failure in the emergency department. Although worsening renal function (WRF) has been associated with the occurrence of dismal outcomes, this only appears to be the case when associated with clinical deterioration. ⋯ This is an important message for emergency physicians to pursue diuretics as long as signs of pulmonary congestion persist to improve the clinical status of the patient. In the present review, we aim to provide clinicians in acute settings with an integrative and comprehensive approach to cardiorenal interactions in acute heart failure.
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Observational Study
No more winter crisis? Forecasting daily bed requirements for emergency department admissions to hospital.
We hypothesized that age, calendar variables, and clinical influenza epidemics may have an impact on the number of daily through-emergency department (ED) hospitalizations. The aim of our study was to elaborate a pragmatic tool to predict the daily number of through-ED hospitalizations. ⋯ Daily number of emergency hospitalizations could be predicted on a regional basis using calendar variables with a low level of error. Forecasting through-ED hospitalizations requires to differentiate between elderly and younger patients, with a low impact of influenza epidemic periods in elders and absent in youngest patients.