Articles: emergency-services.
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Pediatric emergency care · Dec 2024
Streamlining Telecommunications Center and Interfacility Patient Throughput to a Pediatric Emergency Department by Utilizing an Electronic Handoff: A Quality Improvement Initiative.
Effective handoffs are critical for patient safety and high-quality care. The pediatric emergency department serves as the initial reception for patients where optimal communication is crucial. The complexities of interfacility handoffs can result in information loss due to lack of standardization. The aim of our project was a 50% reduction in monthly calls routed through the communication center from 157 to 78, for interfacility transfers to the emergency department from outpatient sites within our organization over a 1-year period, through utilization of an electronic handoff activity. ⋯ Our initiative facilitated the safe and efficient transfer of patients and streamlined workflows without sacrificing quality of patient care. Our telecommunications center has been freed up for other tasks with fewer interruptions during patient throughput. Next steps will analyze the encounters of transferred patients to further optimize patient flow at our organization.
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The epidemiology of testicular trauma in sports on a national scale has not been well studied. Timely management and treatment after testicular trauma is critical to avoid serious, long-term ramifications of mismanagement. ⋯ Sports-related testicular trauma injury rates remained steady between 2012 and 2021, which suggests greater efforts are necessary to reduce the incidence of sports-related testicular trauma. Education efforts should focus on 10- to 19-year-olds because they have the highest incidence. Given the high incidence in sports like basketball and soccer compared with football and lacrosse, testicular trauma seems to be a risk for athletes competing both recreationally and competitively.
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2024
Australia's first cardiac emergency department: Patient profile, activity and performance in the initial 6 months.
To profile the initial 6-month experience at the Victorian Heart Hospital (VHH) cardiac emergency (CE). The primary objective was to describe VHH CE patient characteristics, including presenting complaint, final diagnosis and disposition. Secondary objectives were to report on patient numbers, patient source and quality indicator performance including ambulance off-load by 40 min, waiting time and length of stay (LOS). ⋯ The population predominantly had cardiovascular disease as expected. Some performance indicators, including ED LOS, were identified as requiring intervention.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Dec 2024
Efficacy and safety of the serratus anterior plane block (SAP block) for pain management in patients with multiple rib fractures in the emergency department: a retrospective study.
Chest trauma is a severe and frequent cause of admission to the emergency department (ED). The serratus anterior plane (SAP) block seems to be an effective method of pain management; however, data on efficacy and safety of a single SAP block performed in the ED by emergency physicians (EP) are limited. This study aimed to compare SAP block performed by the EP in the ED plus standard therapy to standard therapy alone in terms of pain severity at 0-3-6-12-18 and 24 h, total opioid consumption (milligrams of morphine equivalents, MME), respiratory function (SpO2/FiO2 ratio), and adverse events (i.e. pneumothorax, infections in the site of injection, or Local Anaesthetic Systemic Toxicity syndrome due to SAP block) in the first 24 h. ⋯ The SAP block, in combination with standard therapy, appeared to be more effective in providing pain relief than standard therapy alone in patients admitted to the SICU for traumatic rib fractures.
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2024
Impact of the Southeast Melbourne Virtual Emergency Department on reducing transfers from residential aged care facilities.
To evaluate the impact of the Southeast Melbourne Virtual Emergency Department (SEMVED) on transfers from residential aged care facilities (RACFs) to traditional EDs. ⋯ SEMVED prevented unnecessary transfers and enabled in-facility care. Integration into community outreach programmes could enhance care delivery. Patient safety outcomes were not formally assessed by our methodology.