Articles: emergency-services.
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Extreme Heat Events and Emergency Department Visits among Older Adults in California from 2012-2019.
Background and Objectives: Extreme heat events are increasing with climate change impacting human health. This study investigates the impact of extreme heat events on Emergency Department (ED) utilization by older adult patients. Materials and Methods: We conducted a study of all 324 non-federal hospital EDs in California during an 8-year period from data extracted from the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI). ⋯ Older patients with three or more comorbidities had the highest odds of ED visits (OR = 1.085, 95%CI: 1.068, 1.112) at the 99th percentile. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that ED visits increase for older patients during extreme heat events, particularly with event intensity and duration. Older patients with at least one comorbidity were at greater risk.
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Observational Study
Adult patients with severe respiratory syncytial virus infections in the emergency department.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a seasonal virus known to cause significant morbidity in pediatric patients; however, morbidity in adult patients has not been well investigated. We aimed to characterize adult patients with RSV infection in the emergency department (ED) and their clinical course. During the winter term 2022/23, all adult ED patients were screened for RSV, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2, and influenza infection using point-of-care polymerase chain reaction tests. ⋯ Our data show that RSV is a medically relevant pathogen among adult ED patients, often requiring inpatient treatment. In particular, elderly patients with some medical preconditions seem to be more prone to a severe course of infection requiring inpatient treatment. Lower respiratory tract involvement, proven by pulmonary infiltrates, seems to be crucial for a more severe disease course.
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Observational Study
The current status of early nursing for emergency pancreatitis and analysis of factors influencing prognosis: A retrospective study.
This study is to investigate the incidence of pain and the influencing factors of prognostic complications in early admission care of pancreatitis in the emergency department patients. This provides a basis for clinical nursing management and prognosis improvement. Hundred patients with acute pancreatitis admitted to the tertiary hospital between January 2021 and December 2023 were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. ⋯ Pancreatitis in the emergency department patients are prone to exacerbation and prolonged pain during early hospitalization. In nursing, timely attention should be paid to the patient's pain issues, timely pain relief measures should be taken, and the occurrence of complications should be reduced, reducing the patient's hospitalization time. Meanwhile, it is necessary to constantly pay attention to changes in the patient's gastrointestinal function and experimental indicators.
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Ultrasound-guided (USG) erector-spinae plane block (ESPB) may be better than intravenous opioids in treating acute hepatopancreaticobiliary (HPB) pain in the ED. ⋯ ESPB is a promising alternative to morphine in those with HPB pain.