Articles: emergency-department.
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To evaluate the impact of a paediatric pain bundle on pain assessment and management of children with fractured forearms who presented to an Emergency Department (ED). ⋯ In this pilot study, findings indicated clinical significance but not statistical significance. The assessment and management of pain in the ED paediatric population is challenging due to difficulties interpreting responsiveness and to organisational and system imperatives that delay time critical aspects such as time to analgesia. Further focus on documentation, assessment and management practices is required in larger populations across a number of sites.
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Violence in healthcare is a significant issue and one that is increasing in prevalence globally. Nurses have been identified as the professional group at most risk, with patients the main source of this violence. The aim of this study was to describe the experiences of Australian ED nurses with episodes of patient-related violence from young adults (16-25years of age) and the parents of paediatric patients. ⋯ Overall the results speak to a working environment where participants regularly feel unsafe. Violence in the ED is perceived to occur frequently and to such an extent that participants have become resigned to expect and accept it as part of their job. The role played by distinct groups such as young adults and the parents of paediatric patients must be acknowledged and this knowledge used along with other known risk factors to help identify patients at risk of potential violence.
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Clin. Appl. Thromb. Hemost. · Jul 2013
Observational StudyDelay in diagnosis of pulmonary thromboembolism in emergency department: is it still a problem?
Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a common and serious disease that can result in death unless emergent diagnosis is made and treatment is initiated. In this study, we aimed to identify whether there is still a delay in the diagnosis of PE and to identify the time to delay in diagnosis and factors leading to this delay. ⋯ The delay in diagnosis of PE in EDs still remains as an important problem. While being female and having chest pain and cough are significantly and independently associated with patient delay in diagnosis, the unilateral leg edema, recent operation, and previous VTE history cause physicians to diagnose on time. On the other hand, having hypertension as comorbidity may lead to physician delay. In order to prevent the delay in diagnosis, hospital-associated factors must be elucidated totally and more interventions must be made to increase public and professional awareness of the disease.
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Emergency departments (EDs) are characterized by simultaneous care of multiple patients with various medical conditions. Due to a large number of patients with complex diseases, speed and complexity of medication use, working in under-staffing and crowded environment, medication errors are commonly perpetrated by emergency care providers. This study was designed to evaluate the incidence of medication errors among patients attending to an ED in a teaching hospital in Iran. ⋯ In this study, at least one-fifth of the patients attending to ED experienced medication errors resulting from multiple factors. More common prescription errors happened during ordering drug dose and frequency. More common administration errors included dug omission or unauthorized drug.
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Paracetamol is the most widely used analgesic and antipyretic drug. In France, little is known concerning patients' knowledge and beliefs about paracetamol. ⋯ In ED patients, the level of knowledge about paracetamol is insufficient to ensure its safe use in ambulatory care. Further studies are needed to determine the causes and to permit better patient education.