Articles: emergency-department.
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In emergency department resuscitation units, writing down information related to interventions, physical examination, vital signs, investigations, and treatments ordered is a crucial task carried out by nurses. To facilitate this task, a team composed of emergency physicians, nurses, and one computer engineer created a novel electronic platform equipped with a tactile screen that allows systematic collection of critical data. This electronic platform also has medical software (ReaScribe+) that functions as an electronic medical record and a clinical decision support system. ⋯ We developed and validated a questionnaire that can now be used in other emergency departments prior to implementation of the computerized platform. The intention to adopt was very high among the respondents, which suggests that the implementation of this innovation could be successful at our institution.
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Febrile neutropenia is considered an oncologic emergency, for which prompt initiation of antibiotics is essential. ⋯ We were not able to show a deleterious effect of delay in antibiotic administration, but our analysis identified several points at which patient flow through the emergency room could be improved.
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Pituitary apoplexy is an uncommon but life-threatening condition that is often overlooked and underdiagnosed. We report a 45-year-old man who presented to our emergency department with a sudden onset headache, acute confusion, signs of meningeal irritation and ophthalmoplegia. An initial diagnosis of acute meningoencephalitis was made, which was amended to pituitary apoplexy following thorough investigation within the emergency department. ⋯ Formal visual field assessment demonstrated temporal visual field loss in the left eye. The patient was discharged to his usual residence a week later and follow-up was organised with both the endocrinologists and ophthalmologists. Follow-up MRI demonstrated that there was no significant change in either size or signal characteristics of the pituitary fossa mass (Figure 1B).
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J Emerg Trauma Shock · Oct 2011
Diagnostic accuracy of bedside emergency ultrasound screening for fractures in pediatric trauma patients.
Bedside ultrasound (BUS) can effectively identify fractures in the emergency department (ED). ⋯ BUS can be utilized by emergency physicians after brief training to accurately identify long bone fractures in the pediatric age-group.