The western journal of emergency medicine
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To determine the association between age and analgesia for emergency department (ED) patients with abdominal or back pain. ⋯ Older adults who present to the ED for abdominal or back pain are less likely to receive analgesia and wait significantly longer for pain medication compared to younger adults.
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Within the next 30 years, the number of visits older adults will make to emergency departments (EDs) is expected to double from 16 million, or 14% of all visits, to 34 million and comprise nearly a quarter of all visits. ⋯ These findings have several implications for patients seen in the ED. The SIS coupled with a clock drawing task (CLOX1) provide a rapid and simple method for assessing and documenting cognition when lengthier assessment tools are not feasible and add to the literature on the use of these tools in the ED. Further research on provider use of these tools and potential implication for quality improvement is needed.
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To compare the effectiveness of ondansetron and prochlorperazine to treat vomiting. Secondary objectives were the effectiveness of ondansetron and prochlorperazine to treat nausea and their tolerability. ⋯ Prochlorperazine and ondansetron appear to be equally effective at treating vomiting in the emergency department.
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Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) is a type of Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) system used to prioritize 9-1-1 calls and optimize resource allocation. Dispatchers use a series of scripted questions to assign determinants to calls based on chief complaint and acuity. ⋯ Among these common MPDS complaint-based categories, the rates of advanced procedures and cardiac arrest medications were low. ALS medications were common in all categories and most determinants. Multiple determinants were rarely used and did not show higher rates of interventions with increasing acuity. Many MPDS determinants are of modest use to predict ALS intervention.