BMC emergency medicine
-
BMC emergency medicine · Jan 2013
Who leaves the emergency department without being seen? A public hospital experience in Georgetown, Guyana.
Left without being seen (LWBS) proportions are commonly used as quality control indicators, but little data is available on LWBS proportions in the developing world. This study sought to determine the proportion and characteristics of patients who LWBS from the emergency department (ED) of the main public hospital in Georgetown, Guyana. ⋯ LWBS proportions are used as quality control indicators and this study determined the LWBS proportion at a public hospital in a developing country and some of the patient characteristics associated with LWBS. This can be helpful to develop strategies to decrease LWBS proportions and to assess progress over time.
-
BMC emergency medicine · Jan 2013
Interrelationship of alcohol misuse, HIV sexual risk and HIV screening uptake among emergency department patients.
Emergency department (ED) patients comprise a high-risk population for alcohol misuse and sexual risk for HIV. In order to design future interventions to increase HIV screening uptake, we examined the interrelationship among alcohol misuse, sexual risk for HIV and HIV screening uptake among these patients. ⋯ The apparent disconnection between HIV screening uptake and alcohol misuse and sexual risk for HIV among ED patients in this study is concerning. Brief interventions emphasizing these associations should be evaluated to reduce alcohol misuse and sexual risk and increase the uptake of ED HIV screening.
-
BMC emergency medicine · Jan 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialEmergency treatment on facial laceration of dog bite wounds with immediate primary closure: a prospective randomized trial study.
To investigate the emergency treatment on facial laceration of dog bite wounds and identify whether immediate primary closure is feasible. ⋯ The facial laceration of dog bite wounds should be primary closed immediately after formal and thoroughly debridement. And the primary closure would shorten the healing time of the dog bite wounds without increasing the rate and period of infection. There is no potentiality of increasing infection incidence and infection speed, compared immediate primary closure with the wounds left open. On the contrary, primary closure the wounds can promote its primary healing. Prophylactic antibiotics administration was not recommended. and the important facial organ or tissue injuries should be secondary reconditioned.
-
BMC emergency medicine · Jan 2013
Epidemiology of noninvasive mechanical ventilation in acute respiratory failure--a retrospective population-based study.
Noninvasive mechanical ventilation (NIV) is a front-line therapy for the management of acute respiratory failure (ARF) in the intensive care units. However, the data on factors and outcomes associated with the use of NIV in ARF patients is lacking. Therefore, we aimed to determine the utilization of NIV for ARF in a population-based study. ⋯ Our results have important implications for a future planning of NIV in a suburban US community with high access to critical care services. The higher APACHE III scores and the development of ARDS are associated with the failure of initial NIV treatment.
-
BMC emergency medicine · Jan 2013
Reliability of team-based self-monitoring in critical events: a pilot study.
Teamwork is a critical component during critical events. Assessment is mandatory for remediation and to target training programmes for observed performance gaps. ⋯ Team-based self-monitoring with the MHPTS to assess team performance during simulated critical events is feasible. A context-based modification of the tool is achievable with good internal consistency and content validity. Further studies are needed to investigate if team-based self-monitoring may be used as part of a programme of assessment to target training programmes for observed performance gaps.