BMC emergency medicine
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BMC emergency medicine · Jan 2015
Multicenter StudyAmbulance use in Pakistan: an analysis of surveillance data from emergency departments in Pakistan.
The utilization of ambulances in low- and middle-income countries is limited. The aim of this study was to ascertain frequency of ambulance use and characteristics of patients brought into emergency departments (EDs) through ambulance and non-ambulance modes of transportation. ⋯ Utilization of ambulances is very low in Pakistan. Ambulance use was found to be more among the elderly and those presenting with injuries. Patients presenting via ambulances were more likely to die in the ED.
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BMC emergency medicine · Jan 2015
Multicenter StudyCharacteristics of chest pain and its acute management in a low-middle income country: analysis of emergency department surveillance data from Pakistan.
Chest pain is one of the most frequent causes of emergency department (ED) visits in high-income countries. Little is known about chest pain patients presenting to EDs of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The objective of this study was to describe the characteristics of chest pain patients presenting to emergency departments (EDs) of Pakistan and to determine the utilization of ED resources in the management of chest pain patients and their outcomes. ⋯ Chest pain is a common presenting complaint in EDs in Pakistan. The majority received an ECG and the use of diagnostic testing, such as cardiac enzymes, is quite uncommon.
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BMC emergency medicine · Jan 2015
Multicenter StudyPattern of presenting complaints recorded as near-drowning events in emergency departments: a national surveillance study from Pakistan.
Drowning is a heavy burden on the health systems of many countries, including Pakistan. To date, no effective large-scale surveillance has been in place to estimate rates of drowning and near-drowning in Pakistan. The Pakistan National Emergency Department Surveillance (Pak-NEDS) study aimed to fill this gap. ⋯ There was major under-reporting of drowning and near-drowning cases in the surveillance study. The etiology of near-drowning cases should be further studied. Patients who experienced non-fatal drownings were more commonly sent for medical care due to other accompanying conditions, rather than near-drowning event itself. There is also need for recognizing true near-drowning incidents. The results of this study provide information on data source selection, site location, emergency care standardization, and multi-sector collaboration for future drowning prevention studies.
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BMC emergency medicine · Jan 2015
Comparative Study Observational StudyPatient safety incident capture resulting from incident reports: a comparative observational analysis.
Patient safety incident (PSI) discovery is an essential component of quality improvement. When submitted, incident reports may provide valuable opportunities for PSI discovery. However, little objective information is available to date to quantify or demonstrate this value. The objective of this investigation was to assess how often Emergency Department (ED) incident reports submitted by different sources led to the discovery of PSIs. ⋯ HCP-generated ED incident reports were much more likely to capture PSIs than reports submitted by non-HCPs. However, HCP reports still led to PSI discovery less than half the time. Further research is warranted to develop effective strategies to improve the utility of incident reports from both HCPs and non-HCPs.