Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Containment of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic requires the public to change behavior under social distancing mandates. Social media are important information dissemination platforms that can augment traditional channels communicating public health recommendations. The objective of the study was to assess the effectiveness of COVID-19 public health messaging on Twitter when delivered by emergency physicians and containing personal narratives. ⋯ Emergency physicians sharing personal narratives on Twitter are perceived to be more effective at communicating COVID-19 health recommendations compared to federal officials sharing impersonal guidance.
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Clinical guidelines have supported outpatient treatment of low-risk pulmonary embolism (PE) since 2014, but adoption of this practice has been slow. Direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) therapy for venous thromboembolism (VTE) is now as common as vitamin K antagonist treatment, but data are sparse regarding outcomes for patients with low-risk PE treated with DOACs as outpatients. We conducted a systematic review of literature on outcomes of outpatient management for PE, including comparisons to inpatient treatment and differences by anticoagulant class. ⋯ Among patients with low-risk PE treated as outpatients, few patients experienced major adverse outcomes such as mortality, recurrent VTE, or major bleeding within 90 days.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Improving Follow-Up Attendance for Discharged Emergency Care Patients Using Automated Phone System to Self-Schedule: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Automated phone appointment reminders have improved adherence with follow-up appointments in a variety of hospital settings, but have mixed results in patients discharged from the emergency department (ED). Increasing adherence to follow-up care has been a priority in the ED to improve patient outcomes and reduce unnecessary future visits. ⋯ An automated self-scheduling phone system significantly improved follow-up adherence after ED discharge, but did not decrease ED revisits.