The western journal of emergency medicine
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Lower abdominal pain in females of reproductive age continues to be a diagnostic dilemma for the emergency physician (EP). Point-of-care ultrasound (US) allows for rapid, accurate, and safe evaluation of abdominal and pelvic pain in both the pregnant and non-pregnant patient. We present 3 cases of females presenting with right lower quadrant and adnexal tenderness where transvaginal ultrasonography revealed acute appendicitis. The discussion focuses on the use of EP- performed transvaginal US in gynecologic and intra-abdominal pathology and discusses the use of a staged approach to evaluation using US and computed tomography, as indicated.
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Early antibiotic administration is recommended in newborns presenting with febrile illness to emergency departments (ED) to avert the sequelae of serious bacterial infection. Although ED crowding has been associated with delays in antibiotic administration in a dedicated pediatric ED, the majority of children that receive emergency medical care in the United States present to EDs that treat both adult and pediatric emergencies. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between time to antibiotic administration in febrile newborns and crowding in a general ED serving both an adult and pediatric population. ⋯ Delayed and highly variable time to antibiotic treatment in febrile newborns was common but unrelated to ED crowding in the general ED study site. Guidelines for time to antibiotic administration in this population may reduce variability in ED practice patterns.
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Optimal solutions for reducing diversion without worsening emergency department (ED) crowding are unclear. We performed a systematic review of published simulation studies to identify: 1) the tradeoff between ambulance diversion and ED wait times; 2) the predicted impact of patient flow interventions on reducing diversion; and 3) the optimal regional strategy for reducing diversion. ⋯ Smoothing elective surgery caseloads, adding ED fast tracks as well as holding units for inpatient boarders, improving ED lab turnaround times, and implementing regional cooperative agreements among hospitals are promising avenues for reducing diversion.
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The purpose of this study was to test if intravenous (IV) fluids warmed to body temperature are associated with greater patient comfort than room temperature IV fluids in adult emergency department (ED) patients. ⋯ In this small trial of adult ED patients, infusing IV fluids warmed to body temperature was associated with improved comfort compared to standard, room temperature IV fluids.
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Triage of patients is critical to patient safety, yet no clear information exists as to the utility of initial vital signs in identifying critically ill older emergency department (ED) patients. The objective of this study is to evaluate a set of initial vital sign thresholds as predictors of severe illness and injury among older adults presenting to the ED. ⋯ Emergency provider assessment and triage scores that rely primarily on initial vital signs are likely to miss a substantial portion of critically ill older adults.