European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Multicenter Study
Mortality in Spanish pediatric emergency departments: a 5-year multicenter survey.
Analysis of the causes of death in children in the pediatric emergency department (ED) may aid the development of management and prevention practices. ⋯ The main causes of death in Spanish pediatric EDs are related to previous illnesses, sudden infant death syndrome, and nonintentional lesions. Several actions have to be considered to improve the quality of care of these children in prehospital and emergency settings.
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Observational Study
Adolescent tracheal intubation in an adult urban emergency department: a retrospective, observational study.
Tracheal intubation is the cornerstone of advanced emergency airway management in children and adults and there is good-quality data characterizing intubation in both groups. There are, however, few published studies on emergency tracheal intubation in adolescents. We carried out an observational study to characterize tracheal intubation in adolescents. ⋯ Our findings suggest that the airway in adolescent patients can be managed successfully and safely in an adult emergency department where there is close collaboration between anaesthetists and emergency physicians.
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A commonly cited reason for the infrequent detection of cognitive impairment in the Emergency Department (ED) is the lack of an appropriate screening tool. The Abbreviated Mental Test 4 (AMT4) is a brief instrument recommended for cognitive screening of older adults in the ED. However, its exact utility in the detection of altered mental status in the ED is yet to be fully determined. ⋯ The present study found that the limited sensitivity of the AMT4 in identifying the majority of cognitively impaired persons restricts its use in isolation as a general cognitive screener in the ED.
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Observational Study
Prognosis of patients with syncope seen in the emergency room department: an evaluation of four different risk scores recommended by the European Society of Cardiology guidelines.
To apply, analyze, and evaluate the four syncope risk scores recommended by the 2009 European guidelines and the different parameters that they use to predict death, syncope recurrence, and hospital readmission in the population seen in the emergency room department (ERD) for syncope. ⋯ Although a large number of events occur after syncope, the risk scores recommended by guidelines overestimate risk, but there were no statistically significant differences between observed and predicted risk.
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Comparative Study Observational Study
Improved detection of delirium, implementation and validation of the CAM-ICU in elderly Emergency Department patients.
To evaluate the effect of routine use of the Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU) on the diagnosis rate of delirium in elderly Emergency Department (ED) patients and the validity of the CAM-ICU in the ED setting. ⋯ The diagnosis rate of delirium after implementation of the CAM-ICU was three-fold higher than before. The CAM-ICU is a reliable screening tool in the ED, with high sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value.