Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2019
Aligning ambulance dispatch priority to patient acuity: A methodology.
In Victoria, Australia, Emergency Medical Service (EMS) demand has increased almost 5% per annum over the past 5 years. This may adversely affect response times to time-critical patients. Additionally, >55% of cases have received Code 1 (lights/sirens) responses. Primary telephone triage occurs using the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS); however, MPDS is reported to be highly sensitive, with common over-triage. The present study describes the methodology applied to better align the response allocated to MPDS determinant codes with patient acuity. ⋯ Analysis of a large EMS dataset supported changes to the EMS response priority for a number of MPDS determinant codes. Such changes should improve the alignment between EMS response and patient acuity, and improve response times to time-critical patients. Other EMS with electronic data could consider testing this methodology.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2019
Observational StudyAn early warning system for emerging drugs of concern in the emergency department: Protocol for the Western Australian Illicit Substance Evaluation (WISE) study.
An ever-increasing number of novel psychoactive substances are being detected worldwide. These emerging drugs have been demonstrated to cause toxicity in clusters, and deaths have been reported. We urgently need to learn more about their effects. We report the protocol for the Western Australian Illicit Substance Evaluation (WISE) study, a research project investigating illicit drug use in the ED. ⋯ We consider the novel approach outlined forms a template for an early warning system for emerging drugs of concern, while also providing vital and comprehensive information on current drugs of abuse, their clinical effects and their impact on the health system.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2019
Characteristics of accidental injuries from power tools treated at two emergency departments in Queensland.
Injuries are a major burden on the Australian healthcare system. Power tool usage is a common cause of accidental injury. A better understanding of the trends of power tool injuries will inform prevention strategies and potentially mitigate costs. ⋯ Accidental injuries from power tool use have a considerable impact on ED resources and can affect the long-term quality of life of those injured. Effective education about safe usage and protection may prevent many injuries.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2019
Observational StudyImpact of acutely behavioural disturbed patients in the emergency department: A prospective observational study.
The present study describes patients with acute behavioural disturbance presenting to the ED, the impact they have on the department and any complications that occur. ⋯ Patients with acute behavioural disturbance often have a history of mental illnesses and are commonly intoxicated. These patients have impacts on healthcare resources and pose risks to staff safety, but significant complications to patients do not occur frequently.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2019
The Sydney Triage to Admission Risk Tool (START2) using machine learning techniques to support disposition decision-making.
To further develop and refine an Emergency Department (ED) in-patient admission prediction model using machine learning techniques. ⋯ Machine learning methods demonstrate similar performance to logistic regression for ED disposition prediction models using basic triage information. This should be investigated further, especially for larger data sets with more complex clinical information.