Articles: hospital-emergency-service.
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The purpose of this quality improvement initiative was to educate emergency nurses and social workers about human trafficking and implement a human trafficking screening, management, and referral protocol adapted from the National Human Trafficking Resource Center. ⋯ The care of human trafficking victims can be improved when emergency nurses and social workers can recognize red flags using a standard screening tool and protocol, thereby identifying and managing potential victims.
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Multicenter Study
THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE AND HEART RATE IN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT PATIENTS: A MULTICENTER COHORT STUDY.
Guidelines and textbooks assert that tachycardia is an early and reliable sign of hypotension, and an increased heart rate (HR) is believed to be an early warning sign for the development of shock, although this response may change by aging, pain, and stress. ⋯ No association between SBP and HR existed in ED patients of any age category, nor in ED patients who were hospitalized with a suspected infection, even during and after ED treatment. Emergency physicians may be misled by traditional concepts about HR disturbances because tachycardia may be absent in hypotension.
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Pediatric emergency care · Jul 2023
Multicenter StudyWhich Trauma Severity Scores Are Useful in Predicting Pediatric Mortality?
Trauma is the leading cause of death in children. Several trauma severity scores exist: the shock index (SI), age-adjusted SI (SIPA), reverse SI (rSI), and rSI multiplied by Glasgow Coma Score (rSIG). However, it is unknown which is the best predictor of clinical outcomes in children. Our goal was to determine the association between trauma severity scores and mortality in pediatric trauma. ⋯ Several trauma scores may help predict mortality in children with trauma, the best being rSIG. Introduction of these scores in algorithms for pediatric trauma evaluations can impact clinical decision-making.
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Acute management of trauma patients with potential spine injuries has evolved from uniform spinal immobilization (SI) to spinal motion restriction (SMR). Little research exists describing how these changes have been implemented. This study aims to describe and analyze the practice of SMR in one emergency medical services (EMS) agency over the time frame of SMR adoption. ⋯ This study shows decreasing SI/SMR treatment and changing patient and practice characteristics. These patterns of care cannot be attributed solely to formal protocol changes. Similar patterns and their possible explanations should be investigated elsewhere.
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While emergency departments are open to anyone without appointment, the need for prioritisation results in periods of waiting that are both wasteful and frustrating. However, value can be added to patient care by (1) engaging the waiting patient, (2) empowering the waiting patient and (3) educating the waiting patient. If these principles are implemented, they will benefit both the patient and the healthcare system.