Articles: emergency-department.
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We describe emergency department (ED) visit volume, illness severity, and crowding metrics from the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic through mid-2022. ⋯ ED visit volumes fell early in the pandemic and have only partly recovered. Despite lower volumes, ED crowding has increased. This issue is magnified in psychiatric patients.
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Eye injuries can happen to people of any age and for many reasons; among these is a fall. The aims of this study were to: (1) examine trends among fall-related eye injuries in working-age and older adults admitted to the emergency department (ED) from 2012 to 2021; and (2) investigate and compare the risk factors associated with fall-related eye injuries between working-age adults and older adults. ⋯ Among Americans treated in the ED for injury, fall-related eye injuries are increasingly common, especially among older adults, and associated with a need for inpatient care. Therefore, these findings suggest opportunities to investigate fall prevention and eye protection interventions, especially in the home setting.
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The aim of this study was to examine the epidemiology of alcohol-associated fall injuries among older adults aged ≥65 years in the United States. ⋯ Our findings highlight the rising rates of ED visits for alcohol-associated falls among older adults during the study period. Health care providers in the ED can screen older adults for fall risk and assess for modifiable risk factors such as alcohol use to help identify those who could benefit from interventions to reduce their risk.
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Computed tomography (CT) is routinely used in the emergency department (ED) due to its ease of access and its ability to rapidly rule in or out many serious conditions. Freestanding emergency departments (FSEDs) have become increasingly used as an alternative to hospital-based emergency departments (HBEDs). The objective of this study was to investigate if the utilization rate of CT differs between FSEDs and HBEDs for chest pain. ⋯ CT scans of the chest are utilized less frequently at FSEDs compared to HBEDs for patient presenting with chest pain.
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Pediatric emergency care · Dec 2023
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Infants Younger Than 90 Days Presenting to the Pediatric Emergency Department: Clinical Characteristics and Risk of Serious Bacterial Infection.
There are scant data on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in infants younger than 90 days. This study was designed to characterize COVID-19 presentation and clinical course in this age group and evaluate the risk of serious bacterial infection. ⋯ The SARS-CoV-2 infection in infants aged 0 to 90 days who present to the PED seems to be mostly mild and self-limiting, with no increased risk of serious bacterial infection.