Annals of emergency medicine
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Using a national sample of emergency department (ED) visits, we aim to describe use of CBC, computed tomography (CT), and pain medication among ED visits in which appendicitis was diagnosed. We describe use trends over time and identify use differences between adults and children. ⋯ CT use has increased for patients with appendicitis over time, and CBC use remains high. There has been an increase in analgesic administration, but more than half of all patients with appendicitis had not received pain medication over the course of the entire study period. Children received fewer parenteral narcotics than adults and appeared to be preferentially treated with nonparenteral nonnarcotic analgesics.
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Understanding the nontechnical skills specifically applicable to the emergency department (ED) is essential to facilitate training and more broadly consider interventions to reduce error. The aim of this scoping review is to first identify and then explore in depth the nontechnical skills linked to safety in the ED. ⋯ This article highlights the challenges of reviewing a topic for which the terms are not clearly defined in the literature. A novel methodological approach is described that provides a structured and transparent process for reviewing the literature in emerging areas of interest. A series of literature reviews focusing on individual nontechnical skills will provide a clearer understanding of how the skills identified contribute to safety in the ED.
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Multicenter Study
A prospective, multicenter study of pharmacist activities resulting in medication error interception in the emergency department.
The primary objective of this study is to determine the activities of pharmacists that lead to medication error interception in the emergency department (ED). ⋯ Pharmacists' review of written or computerized medication orders accounts for only a third of medication error interceptions. Most medication error interceptions occur during consultative activities.
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Emergency department (ED) closures threaten community access to emergency services, but few data exist to describe factors associated with closure. We evaluate factors associated with ED closure in California and seek to determine whether hospitals serving more vulnerable populations have a higher rate of ED closure. ⋯ The population served by EDs and hospitals' profit model are associated with ED closure. Whether our findings are a manifestation of poorer reimbursement in at-risk EDs is unclear.