Annals of emergency medicine
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To determine the effectiveness, safety, and resource allocation of a 2-specialty, 2-tiered triage and trauma team activation protocol. ⋯ This evaluation tool effectively predicts likelihood of serious injury, mortality, need for emergency surgery, and need for rehabilitation. Patients with a low likelihood of serious injury may be initially evaluated by the emergency medicine service effectively and safely, thus allowing more efficient use of surgical personnel.
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We present 2 cases in which the transfusion of small volumes of packed RBC was sufficient to precipitate symptomatic hypocalcemia. Subsequent inquiry revealed that both of the patients had preexisting, untreated, and asymptomatic hypocalcemia, 1 following partial thyroidectomy many years earlier and the other with documented hypocalcemia but without a definitive diagnosis.
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To measure the interrater and intrarater agreement of existing emergency department triage systems. ⋯ Triage assessments (both interrater and intrarater) by experienced personnel are inconsistent using these 5 standardized patient scenarios. These results challenge the reliability of current ED triage practice.