BMC emergency medicine
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BMC emergency medicine · Jun 2020
Piloting data linkage in a prospective cohort study of a GP referral scheme to avoid unnecessary emergency department conveyance.
UK Ambulance services are under pressure to safely stream appropriate patients away from the Emergency Department (ED). Even so, there has been little evaluation of patient outcomes. We investigated differences between patients who are conveyed directly to ED after calling 999 and those referred by an ambulance crew to a novel GP referral scheme. ⋯ Despite limited data and a small sample size, there were differences between patients conveyed directly to ED and those who were referred into GP care. Initial evidence suggests that referring individuals to a GP may provide an appropriate and safe alternative path of care. This pilot study demonstrated a need for larger scale, methodologically rigorous study to demonstrate the benefits of alternative conveyance schemes and recommend changes to the current system of urgent and emergency care.
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BMC emergency medicine · Jun 2020
Observational StudyThe growing impact of older patients in the emergency department: a 5-year retrospective analysis in Brazil.
The average age of the global population is rising at an increasing rate. There is a disproportional increase in Emergency Department (ED) visits by older people worldwide. In the Brazilian health system, complex and severely ill patients and those requiring specialized urgent procedures are referred to tertiary level care. As far as we know, no other study in Latin America has analyzed the impact of demographic changes in tertiary ED attendance. ⋯ In tertiary ED, age is an important risk factor for hospitalization and mortality, but not for ICU admission. Old-older people are at the greatest risk and demand further subgroup stratification.
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BMC emergency medicine · May 2020
Which factors influence the ED length-of-stay after anterior shoulder dislocations: a retrospective chart review in 716 cases.
Anterior shoulder dislocations (ASD) are commonly seen in Emergency Departments (ED). ED overcrowding is increasingly burdening many healthcare systems. Little is known about factors influencing ED length-of-stay (LOS) for ASD. This study defines the factors influencing ED LOS for ASD patients. ⋯ To our knowledge this study is the largest of its kind, demonstrating ED LOS in ASD patients is influenced by age, the need for medication and dislocation history, primary versus recurrent. Notably, we found that biomechanical reduction techniques, which are not primarily traction-countertraction or leverage techniques, e.g. scapular manipulation and Cunningham, were associated with less ED medication use. Further research is needed to define how reduction methods influence ED medication use, patient satisfaction and ED throughput times.
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BMC emergency medicine · May 2020
Multicenter StudyPrognostic prediction tools and clinician communication: a qualitative study of the effect of the STUMBL tool on clinical practice.
In recent years, researchers and clinicians have been developing prognostic prediction tools (PPTs) as a way of identifying patients at risk of deterioration. The use of PPTs in the clinical environment not only impacts the risk of adverse outcomes for patients, but the use of these tools also effect clinical practice. Much attention has been paid to the clinical performance of PPTs. But more insight is needed on how the use of PPTs impacts clinical practice. The objective of this study was to map some of the ways in which PPTs effect clinical practice. The STUMBL (STUdy evaluating the impact of a prognostic model for Management of BLunt chest wall trauma patients) feasibility trial evaluated the use of a new prognostic prediction tool (PPT) to guide the management blunt chest wall trauma patients in the emergency departments (ED). The trial was undertaken between October 2016 and September 2018 and conducted at four sites in England and Wales. Nested within the feasibility trial was a qualitative study aimed at understanding how ED clinicians experienced and used the PPT. The qualitative methods included a focus group and telephone interviews with 9 ED clinicians. This study focused on participant perceptions of the feasibility and use of the STUMBL tool on clinical practice in the ED. ⋯ The qualitative data collected offered useful insights into the ways in which the tool changes clinical practice. This was a small study of the effect of one kind of PPT on clinical practice. Nevertheless, this study maps areas in which clinical practice is affected by the introduction of a PPT into the clinical environment. More research is needed to better understand these effects, and to understand how these tools become embedded in clinical practice over the longer term.
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BMC emergency medicine · May 2020
Lower maximum forces on oral structures when using gum-elastic bougie than when using endotracheal tube and stylet during both direct and indirect laryngoscopy by novices: a crossover study using a high-fidelity simulator.
Applying excessive force during endotracheal intubation (ETI) is associated with several complications, including dental trauma and hemodynamic alterations. A gum-elastic bougie (GEB), a type of tracheal tube introducer, is a useful airway adjunct for patients with poor laryngoscopic views. However, how the use of a GEB affects the force applied during laryngoscopy is unclear. We compared the force applied on the oral structures during ETI performed by novices using the GEB versus an endotracheal tube + stylet. ⋯ Compared with the use of an endotracheal tube + stylet, the use of a GEB was associated with lower maximum forces on the oral structures during both direct and indirect laryngoscopy performed by novices. Our results suggest the expanded role of a GEB beyond an airway adjunct for difficult airways.