Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Effect of MicroEEG on Clinical Management and Outcomes of Emergency Department Patients With Altered Mental Status: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Altered mental status (AMS) is a common presentation in the emergency department (ED). A previous study revealed 78% electroencephalogram (EEG) abnormalities, including nonconvulsive seizure (NCS; 5%), in ED patients with AMS. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of EEG on clinical management and outcomes of ED patients with AMS. ⋯ An EEG can be obtained in the ED with minimal resources and can affect clinical management of AMS patients.
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Multicenter Study
Reducing Blood Culture Contamination in Community Hospital Emergency Departments: A Multicenter Evaluation of a Quality Improvement Intervention.
Blood culture contamination is a common and preventable problem in the emergency department (ED). In a previous single-center study, changing the process of ED blood culture collection from the traditional "clean," nonsterile procedure to a fully sterile procedure with standardized use of sterile gloves, large-volume chlorhexidine skin antisepsis, and fenestrated sterile drapes resulted in a substantial reduction in contamination. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of this sterile blood culture collection process for reducing blood culture contamination in two community hospital EDs. ⋯ Changing the method of blood culture collection from the commonly used nonsterile technique to a sterile process resulted in significant reductions in blood culture contamination at two community hospital EDs, including one with low baseline contamination. Monitoring the implementation process at both sites was important to identify and overcome operational challenges. At one study site, simplification of the process by removing the fenestrated drape component was a key for successful implementation.