Articles: emergency-department.
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Emergency Departments (ED) in the UK have seen increasing attendance rates in recent years. Departments are now seeking strategies to reduce their attendances. A review of all ambulance attendances to the ED at Ninewells Hospital was conducted to identify if patients presenting by ambulance could be seen and treated more appropriately in other parts of the health service. ⋯ The ambulance services present one-third of the patients to the ED at Ninewells Hospital. 30%-32% were found to be attending inappropriately and 74%-80% of these could have been managed in primary care. Reducing inappropriate ambulance attendances could reduce the departmental patient load by 11%.
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Curr Emerg Hosp Med Rep · Jun 2013
Airway Management & Assessment of Dyspnea in Emergency Department Patients with Acute Heart Failure.
Shortness of breath is the most common symptom in patients with acute heart failure (AHF). Ensuring adequate oxygenation and ventilation as well as symptomatic relief are key goals of early emergency department management. In this focused review, we describe how to assess dyspnea in clinical practice and how to treat AHF patients to relieve dyspnea, with initial discussion on Airway and Breathing management for patients who present in extremis.
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Status asthmaticus is a common cause of morbidity and mortality. The addition of ketamine to the standard treatment regimen of severe asthma has shown to improve outcome and alleviate the need for mechanical ventilation. The purpose of this review is to determine the pulmonary effects of ketamine and to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to support its use for refractory status asthmaticus. ⋯ In various studies, ketamine has been found to be a potential bronchodilator in severe asthma. However, a large prospective clinical trial is warranted before laying down any definitive recommendations on its use in status asthmaticus.