European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Is information sharing between the emergency department and primary care useful to the care of frequent emergency department users?
To assess whether easy access to medical information of the emergency department's (ED) frequent users would be useful to patient care in the ED and at primary healthcare centres (PHCs), and if resource utilization in the following year would be affected. ⋯ Although only a small subgroup's information was shared, yielding no decrease in overall healthcare utilization, the study indicated benefits of the enhanced information at the respective care level and also had important clinical and organizational implications.
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The relationship between major discharge diagnoses and prediction of in-hospital death has been intensively studied. The relation between the presenting complaint at the Emergency Department (ED) and in-hospital fatality, however, is less well known. ⋯ The presenting complaint at the ED carries valuable information of the risk for in-hospital fatality in nonsurgical patients. This knowledge can be valuable in the prioritization between different patient groups in the process of initiating diagnostics and treatment procedures at the ED.
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The differential diagnosis between viral meningitis and bacterial meningitis is often very difficult. The results of peripheral blood and spinal fluid analysis are not 100% accurate. We tried to find a useful 'bedside' decision-making tool, based on laboratory results readily available at the emergency department. ⋯ We present a bedside bacterial meningitis score. Using this bacterial meningitis score as a decision-making tool, we would be able to avoid antibiotics in a large number of children with viral meningitis. As this gives a 100% success rate, thus guaranteeing that bacterial meningitis patients would receive the proper therapy, our bacterial meningitis score could be an accurate decision-support tool.
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Acute pain still persists in patients under treatment after admission to emergency departments (ED). The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of 1 g of paracetamol in patients presenting an osteoarticular injury. ⋯ A simple and easily applicable protocol of pain management permits the achievement of satisfactory analgesia during a patient's stay in the ED.
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Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a sudden emergency procedure that requires a rapid and efficient response, and personnel trained in lifesaving procedures. Regular practice and training are necessary to improve resuscitation skills and reduce anxiety among the staff. Western Galilee Hospital has developed simulator programs for surprise CPR training exercises in all hospital departments and units. This study assessed the efficacy of surprise drills. ⋯ It is our belief that surprise resuscitation drills constitute an effective tool to improve performance in case of a real emergency resuscitation, both on a departmental and a general hospital level.