Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2021
Lunacy in a tertiary emergency department: A 3-year cohort study of the association between moon cycles and occupational violence and aggression.
Occupational violence and aggression (OVA) in the ED is an issue of global concern and increasing incidence. The empirical evidence for the relationship between the lunar cycle and 'lunatics' remains equivocal. The present study aims to examine the association between OVA in ED and the full moon (FM). ⋯ Contrary to traditional beliefs, the FQ and TQ of the lunar cycle but not the FM were associated with OVA. This highlights a relatively unexplored relationship that has previously been overshadowed by the FM in the literature. Prediction models of violence in the ED could consider incorporating the FQ and TQ of the lunar cycle in their models.
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Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2021
Innovative pathway for managing children and adolescents with mental health concerns in the emergency department: An intervention feasibility study.
To investigate if an innovative clinical pathway for managing child and adolescent mental health (MH) ED presentations reduces average length of stay (LOS) and improves carer satisfaction. ⋯ This study provides valuable information about the benefits of the KALM pathway in managing child and adolescent MH presentations to ED. This new pathway reduces the LOS in ED and improves carer experience compared to the usual care pathway.
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Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2021
Psychotropic medication use for paediatric mental health patients in an emergency department.
There is paucity of evidence for psychotropic medication use in children and adolescents presenting with mental health (MH) problems to the ED. We set out to describe paediatric psychotropic medication use in the ED. ⋯ A minority of children with MH presentations to the ED were medicated. It will require multicentre research to determine the most effective and safe acute psychotropic agents for oral and parenteral use in children in the ED.
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Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2021
Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic: The experiences of South Australia's Rescue, Retrieval and Aviation Services.
COVID-19 poses significant challenges to pre-hospital and retrieval medicine (PHRM) clinicians - and many are unique to this area of clinical practice. We share the experiences of the South Australian Ambulance Service (SAAS) MedSTAR Emergency Medical Retrieval Service in preparing for the COVID-19 pandemic in the pre-hospital and retrieval setting - including the role of a multidisciplinary leadership team; challenges and potential approaches to screening for COVID-19; personal protective equipment for pre-hospital and aeromedical taskings; issues arising with interstate retrievals; and the role of telehealth. Although novel solutions allowed SAAS MedSTAR to continue to deliver high-quality care, considering the resource implications involved in undertaking the transfer of patients with COVID-19, it is clear that significant community disease transmission threatens to overwhelm any PHRM service. Should Australia face a significant future outbreak, it is conceivable that some PHRM operations may need to be reduced or suspended entirely.
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Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2021
Observational StudyLongitudinal description and evaluation of an emergency department avoidance strategy for a youth mass gathering (Schoolies) in Australia.
ED avoidance strategies including In-Event Health Service (IEHS) processes during mass gathering events (MGEs), such as 'Schoolies week', may be important for EDs, ambulance services, the local population, and attendees. The aim of the present study was to provide a longitudinal description of emergency care requirements for young adults (16-18 years old); focussing on the impact of the Schoolies MGEs. ⋯ The IEHS, operational during Schoolies, appeared to reduce pressures on local EDs by offering rapid, targeted care for potentially vulnerable youth; decrease requirements for hospital transport and minimise impacts on care provision for the local community. Given increases in ED crowding and pressures on ambulance services, such care models may be worth considering for other types of MGEs and in other locations.