European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Reduced length of stay in medical emergency department patients: a prospective controlled study on emergency physician staffing.
Patients, emergency department staff and hospital managers are often confronted with a prolonged length of stay of emergency department patients, with resulting overcrowding in the emergency department. We hypothesized that additional medical personnel would reduce the length of stay. ⋯ An additional physician significantly reduced the length of stay of medical emergency department outpatients.
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An increasing and serious heroin overdose problem in Oslo has mandated the increasing out-of-hospital use of naloxone administered by paramedics. The aim of this study was to determine the frequencies and characteristics of adverse events related to this out-of-hospital administration by paramedics. ⋯ Although adverse events were common among patients treated for opioid overdose in an out-of-hospital setting, serious complications were rare. Out-of-hospital naloxone treatment by paramedics seems to save several lives a year without a high risk of serious complications.
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The World Athletics Championships are considered to be the third most important sporting event on the planet. Before the celebration of their seventh meeting in Seville, Spain, the need for medical care, as in the Olympic Games, was supposed to be low and of minimal complexity. It was nevertheless judged necessary to install strategically located assistance points, and to evaluate the results of this intervention. METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN: Following the planning phase carried out by a multidisciplinary commission of health, set up by the Organizer Committee, which prepared protocols, that were elaborated by five working groups, the operation developed during the World Championships in Athletics is described. Five clinics and several first aid stations were set up in the stadium and its surroundings, in hotels, warm-up and training tracks, the high-speed train station and the airport, as well as strategic points in the city. ⋯ The preparation of a potent pre-hospital service, strategically located and dedicated to the event, was able to solve the problems that occurred. Nevertheless, a hospital alert and a coordination centre are also necessary. These data should be useful in planning medical resources for future mass sporting events.
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To determine whether in-hospital cardiac arrests occurring in regular wards are preceded by some event(s), and the diagnostic and therapeutic measures adopted. ⋯ Most in-hospital cardiac arrests are preceded by events that often go overlooked and whose correct interpretation could be associated with a reduced mortality rate.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage in Emergency Departments in France: causes and management.
Little is known about the epidemiology of acute upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage hospitalized in Emergency Departments. Most of the studies concerning digestive bleeding have been carried out by Gastroenterology Departments. This multicentre study included consecutive patients with acute upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage hospitalized after an initial management at Emergency Departments in France, to describe the initial medical management and to determine the causes of acute upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage. We also studied the relationship between the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or aspirin and the occurrence of an acute upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage by a case-control comparison. ⋯ Hospitalized acute upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage in Emergency Departments in France is more often caused by cirrhosis than in other countries. Decreasing the delay between the first signs of bleeding and arrival at the Emergency Department is the main challenge in the management of acute upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage.