Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2023
ReviewReview article: Scoping review of the characteristics and outcomes of adults presenting to the emergency department during heatwaves.
As a result of climate change heatwaves are expected to increase in frequency and intensity and will have detrimental impacts on human health globally. EDs are often the critical point of care for acute heat illnesses and other conditions associated with heat exposure. Existing literature has focused on heatwave-related hospitalisation and mortality. ⋯ Outcomes including hospitalisation and mortality rates after ED admissions showed positive associations with heatwaves. The heatwaves resulting from climate change will place increasing demands on EDs providing care for increasingly susceptible populations. Significant public heatwave planning across multiple sectors is required to reduce the risk of overwhelming EDs with these patients.
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2023
Making clear and effective communication SOuND BETTeR for patients with communication barriers.
The consequences of ineffective communication between patients and clinicians in the ED range from frustration to significant adverse events. Unfortunately, scenarios where we are unable to understand what our patient is saying to us are common, due to a multitude of factors including acute illness, disability and patient diversity. Current communication aids can be difficult to access and use in the Emergency setting due to lack of physical resources, specific training and time. ⋯ The tool can effectively and quickly identify important needs in patients with expressive communication barriers such as those with aphasia, facial trauma and on non-invasive ventilation. In addition, the tool can be modified for use in patients with non-English speaking backgrounds. At this stage the tool has not yet been prospectively validated.
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2023
Editorial CommentVirtual emergency department: It is not all in the name.
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2023
Initial experience of a Priority Primary Care Centre in metropolitan Melbourne.
To report the initial experience of a newly built Priority Primary Care Centre (PPCC) from the ED perspective. ⋯ The PPCC enabled re-direction of a small proportion of ED presentations. Early results suggest that such patients can be adequately selected and managed at PPCCs.
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2023
Comment Observational StudyEvaluating the use of the ABCD2 score as a clinical decision aid in the emergency department: Retrospective observational study.
Clinical decision aids (CDAs) can help clinicians with patient risk assessment. However, there is little data on CDA calculation, interpretation and documentation in real-world ED settings. The ABCD2 score (range 0-7) is a CDA used for patients with transient ischaemic attack (TIA) and assesses risk of stroke, with a score of 0-3 being low risk. The aim of this study was to describe ABCD2 score documentation in patients with an ED diagnosis of TIA. ⋯ The ABCD2 score was documented in less than half of eligible patients. When documented, clinicians were generally accurate with their calculation and application of the ABCD2. No independent predictors of ABCD2 documentation were identified.