Journal of emergency nursing : JEN : official publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association
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Evidence suggests that a significant number of patients discharged from the hospital with a diagnosis of ischemic stroke are not identified as having a stroke on admission. Those presenting with "nontraditional" stroke symptoms may be less likely to be diagnosed correctly. We aimed to establish whether there was an association between symptom presentation and diagnostic accuracy and to identify the type and frequency of nontraditional symptoms that resulted in a missed diagnosis in the emergency department. ⋯ In order to facilitate appropriate management of patients with ischemic stroke, emergency nurses must be aware that symptom presentation is highly variable. Patients presenting with nontraditional symptoms may benefit from an immediate and comprehensive neurological evaluation.
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False-positive peripheral blood cultures due to contamination pose clinical and financial consequences for patients, families, and hospitals. Educating staff who draw peripheral blood cultures about hospital policy, using a blood culture-drawing kit, having a dedicated team obtaining peripheral blood cultures, and following up with staff who draw a contaminated peripheral blood cultures have been shown to reduce the rate of false-positive peripheral blood cultures. The objective of this study was to reduce the rate of false-positive peripheral blood cultures in a pediatric emergency department using the previously mentioned measures. ⋯ The decline in contaminated blood cultures shows that the interventions described significantly reduced the rate of false-positive peripheral blood cultures in the emergency department.