Articles: emergency-services.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Aug 2024
Perioperative Primary Care Utilization and Postoperative Readmission, Emergency Department Use, and Mortality in Older Surgical Patients.
Postdischarge primary care follow-up is associated with lower readmission rates after medical hospitalizations. However, the effect of primary care utilization on readmission has not been studied in surgical patients. ⋯ Both postdischarge visits and the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit appear to be extremely underutilized among the older surgical population. In those patients who do utilize primary care, compared with propensity-matched patients who do not, our study suggests primary care use is associated with modestly lower readmission rates. Prospective studies are needed to determine whether targeted primary care involvement can reduce readmission.
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Observational Study
Frequency of Persistent Opioid Use 6 Months After Exposure to IV Opioids in the Emergency Department: A Prospective Cohort Study.
As rates of opioid use disorder in the general population have increased, some have questioned whether IV opioids should be used routinely for treatment of acute severe pain in the emergency department (ED). ⋯ Among 506 opioid naïve ED patients administered IV opioids for acute severe pain, only one used opioids persistently during the subsequent 6 months.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2024
Bedside urine testing for fentanyl in self-reported heroin users in a tertiary Brisbane emergency department.
To determine if patients presenting to our toxicology unit following self-reported heroin use had positive urine immunoassay testing for fentanyl or its analogues. ⋯ In patients presenting to our toxicology unit in Brisbane, we did not find any cases where the urine of patients self-reporting heroin exposure tested positive for fentanyl or its analogues.
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Incidental findings are unrelated to a patient's complaint, found on diagnostic imaging, such as point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS). Incidental findings represent potential harms to patients and may lead to increased patient anxiety and health care costs related to downstream testing and surveillance. ⋯ Incidental renal cysts are common and are more likely to be found in older adults. In our study, physicians infrequently informed patients of their incidental finding.