Articles: emergency-department.
-
Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2013
Evaluation of a multifaceted intervention on documentation of vital signs at triage: A before-and-after study.
Triage systems provide a centralised safety mechanism where all patients are assessed for clinical urgency at point of entry to the ED. ⋯ Progressive sustained improvements in vital sign documentation were observed over the study period; however, no such increases were noted in guideline adherence. To facilitate evaluation of guideline adherence, we recommend specific vital sign parameters be included in the Australasian Triage Scale Guideline for all levels of urgency.
-
Comparative Study Observational Study
Epidemiology of paediatric minor head injury: Comparison of injury characteristics with Indices of Multiple Deprivation.
Head injury (HI) is a common presentation to Child Emergency Departments (CEDs), but the actual number of children attending with minor HI is unclear. Most research has focussed on admitted patients, often relying on hospital-coded admission data. We studied the incidence of minor HI presenting to the CED of a major teaching hospital in Coventry and Warwickshire. HI attendances were compared with population data to identify injury patterns relating to deprivation. ⋯ Young children are particularly at risk of HI and parents should be offered information on injury prevention. More children from deprived areas attended with HI and these families may benefit most from targeted interventions.
-
In 2002, the sero-prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV) in the Emergency Department (ED), University Hospital, Newark, New Jersey was 10.4%. Both HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are transmitted by injection drug use (IDU) or sexual contact. However, the degree of concurrent positive HCV antibody status in HIV-infected ED patients is unknown. ⋯ Given the high prevalence of HIV and HIVHCV antibody in the ED, routine testing is important for patients ≥ 45 years with positive urine toxicology and elevated liver function tests.
-
The decision to admit a frail older patient is rarely made by a geriatrician and often falls to staff in the emergency department (ED), who may not have the training to balance the risks, benefits and alternatives. We based a consultant geriatrician in the ED with the primary aim of facilitating admission prevention for older patients and this was achieved for 64% (543/848) of patients. ⋯ The overall 7-day ED re-attendance rate was 10.1%, but only 3.4% of patients were admitted with the same problem, indicating true admission prevention rather than admission delay. In conclusion, the placement of a consultant geriatrician in the ED is effective in facilitating admission prevention for older patients.