CJEM
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Homelessness increases the risk of cold-related injuries. We examined emergency department visits for cold-related injuries in Toronto over a 4-year period, comparing visits for patients identified as homeless to visits for patients not identified as homeless. ⋯ Patients experiencing homelessness visiting the emergency department are much more likely to be seen for cold-related injuries than non-homeless patients. Additional efforts are needed to prevent cold-related exposure and consequent injury among people experiencing homelessness.
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Triage is the process of identifying patients with both the greatest clinical need and the greatest likelihood of benefit in the setting of limited clinical resources. The primary objective of this study was to assess the ability of formal mass casualty incident triage tools to identify patients requiring urgent lifesaving interventions. ⋯ There was a wide range in the sensitivity of triage tools to identify patients requiring urgent lifesaving interventions. MPTT, BCD and MITT were the most sensitive triage tools assessed. All of the triage tools assessed should be employed with caution during mass casualty incidents as they may fail to identify a large proportion of patients requiring urgent lifesaving interventions.