Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
-
Emergency departments (EDs) have implemented HIV screening using a variety of strategies. This study investigates how specific patient and health system factors in the ED impact who is and is not screened in a combined targeted and nontargeted, electronic medical record (EMR)-driven, opt-out, HIV screening program. ⋯ Many patients, particularly adolescents and young adults, are missed in ED HIV screening programs that require blood draw and depend on providers to obtain consent for testing. To ensure that these patients are reached, future ED screening programs should strive to develop innovative workflows that allow for blood draws for HIV screening only and streamline the processes of obtaining informed consent and ordering tests for all eligible patients.
-
Multicenter Study
Rate-control with beta-blockers versus calcium-channel blockers in the emergency setting: predictors of medication class choice and associated hospitalization.
Rate control is an important component of the management of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Previous studies of emergency department (ED) rate control have been limited by relatively small sample sizes. We examined the use of beta-blockers (BBs) versus nondihydropyridine calcium channel blockers (CCBs) in ED patients from 24 sites and the associated hospital admission rates. ⋯ In this study of 24 EDs, CCBs were used more frequently for rate control than BBs, and complications were rare and easily managed using both agents. Variation between hospitals in BB versus CCB use was predominantly due to hospital characteristics such as teaching status and AF volumes, rather than different case mix. Among patients who did not receive attempts at rhythm control, use of a BB for rate control was associated with a lower rate of hospitalization.