Annals of emergency medicine
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Identification of HIV remains a critical health priority for which emergency departments (EDs) are a central focus. The comparative cost-effectiveness of various HIV screening strategies in EDs remains largely unknown. The goal of this study was to compare programmatic costs and cost-effectiveness of nontargeted and 2 forms of targeted opt-out HIV screening in EDs using results from a multicenter, pragmatic randomized clinical trial. ⋯ Nontargeted HIV screening was more costly than targeted screening largely due to an increased number of HIV tests performed. Each HIV screening strategy had similar within-strategy costs per new HIV diagnosis with traditional targeted screening yielding the lowest cost per new diagnosis. For settings with budget constraints or very low HIV prevalences, the traditional targeted approach may be preferred; however, given only a slightly higher cost per new HIV diagnosis, ED settings looking to detect the most new cases may prefer nontargeted screening.
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Computed tomography pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) is overused during pulmonary embolism (PE) testing in the emergency department (ED), whereas prediction rules and D-dimer are underused. We report the adherence, clinical benefit, and safety of a D-dimer-only strategy to guide need for PE imaging in the ED. ⋯ In this Canadian ED study, the uptake of a D-dimer-only PE testing strategy was high. Implementation was associated with higher imaging yield and a D-dimer level of less than 500 ng/mL safely excluded PE.
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The emergency department clinical environment is unique, and guidelines for promoting supportive and equitable workplace cultures ensure success and longevity for pregnant persons and parents in emergency medicine. There is paucity, variability, and dissatisfaction with current parental (historically referred to as maternity and paternity) leave policies. This paper describes the development of consensus-derived recommendations to serve as a framework for emergency departments across the country for incorporating family-friendly policies. Policies that foster a family-inclusive workplace by allowing for professional advancement without sacrificing personal values regardless of sex, gender, and gender identity are critical for emergency medicine recruitment and retention.