Journal of emergency nursing : JEN : official publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association
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Fever during chemotherapy is a common and potentially severe complication being increasingly evaluated in emergency departments to minimize morbidity and mortality. Streamlining triage of these patients may improve health outcomes and wait times in the health care system. ⋯ Decreased wait times from triage associated with the use of a febrile neutropenia protocol could be accounted for by a lower number of lab results required through this protocol in addition to shorter physician assessment times in the admitted population. This study shows that nurse-initiated protocols may influence door-to-antibiotic time for patients undergoing chemotherapy. By having a targeted protocol for the cancer population, health care centers may be able to demonstrate decreased health care expenditure and increased resource availability. Furthermore, as the current population of patients undergoing chemotherapy is at a high risk for neutropenia, prompt management is crucial to minimize mortality.
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This study aimed to develop a new model on the basis of the National Early Warning Score to predict intensive care unit admission and the mortality of patients with acute pancreatitis. ⋯ A new model developed by combining National Early Warning Score and calcium exhibited better value in predicting the prognosis of acute pancreatitis than the models involving National Early Warning Score, Modified Early Warning Score, and Bedside Index of Severity in Acute Pancreatitis alone.
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Despite the plethora of research on the use of emergency department services for nonurgent primary health care, the vast majority of this research is quantitative in nature. To date, there is little research that reports on the problem from the patients' perspective and/or lived experience, which compromises health care providers' understanding of the essence of the problem as described by the patients. Thus, this study will provide a qualitative description of nonurgent ED visits from the patients' perspective. Specifically, this study answers the following research questions: 1) What are the reasons for patients and/or caregivers visiting the emergency department for nonurgent health conditions? and 2) What are the barriers experienced by patients and/or caregivers when seeking access to health care? ⋯ The results of the study can help inform patient-centered care and future policy initiatives that will address the practices and barriers contributing to nonurgent ED visits.