Articles: emergency-department.
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A majority of patients who experience acute coronary syndrome (ACS) initially receive care in the emergency department (ED). Guidelines for care of patients experiencing ACS, specifically ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) are well defined. We examine the utilization of hospital resources between patients with NSTEMI as compared to STEMI and unstable angina (UA). We then make the case that as NSTEMI patients are the majority of ACS cases, there is a great opportunity to risk stratify these patients in the emergency department. ⋯ The sample included 284,945 adult ED patients, of whom 1195 experienced ACS. Among the latter, 978 (70%) were diagnosed with NSTEMI, 225 (16%) with STEMI, and 194 with UA (14%). We observed 79.1% of STEMI patients receiving ICU care. 14.4% among NSTEMI patients, and 9.3% among UA patients. NSTEMI patients' mean hospital LOS was 3.7 days. This was shorter than that of non-ACS patients 4.75 days and UA patients 2.99. In-hospital mortality for NSTEMI was 1.6%, compared to, 4.4% for those with STEMI patients and 0% for UA. There are recommendations for risk stratification among NSTEMI patients to evaluate risk for major adverse cardiac events (MACE) that can be used in the ED to guide admission decisions and use of ICU care, thus optimizing care for a majority of ACS patients.
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Review
Patient and public involvement in emergency care research: a scoping review of the literature.
Establishing the benefits of patient and public involvement (PPI) in emergency care research is important to improve the quality and relevance of research. Little is known about the extent of PPI in emergency care research, its methodological and reporting quality. This scoping review aimed to establish the extent of PPI in emergency care research, identify PPI strategies and processes and assess the quality of reporting on PPI in emergency care research. ⋯ Relatively few emergency care studies comprehensively describe PPI. Opportunity exists to improve the consistency and quality of reporting of PPI in emergency care research. Further research is required to better understand the specific challenges for implementing PPI in emergency care research, and to determine whether emergency care researchers have adequate resources, education and funding to undertake and report involvement.
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Patient safety in emergency departments: a problem for health care systems? An international survey.
Patient safety in healthcare is one of the cornerstones of quality of care. The emergency department (ED) is by its very nature a place where errors and safety issues are liable to occur. ⋯ This survey highlighted that most health professionals identify the ED as an environment with specific safety issues. The main factors appeared to be a shortage of personnel during busy periods, overcrowding due to boarding, and a perceived lack of support from hospital management.