European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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The aim of the present study is to describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics, complications and outcome of patients with haemophilia and acute head injury (AHI) at the emergency department (ED), and develop a protocol to prevent early and late complications. This is a retrospective cohort study including all patients with haemophilia and AHI admitted to the ED. We identified 26 patients with AHI. ⋯ The discharge diagnosis was as follows: 3.8% subdural haematoma, 3.8% cerebellar epidural haematoma and 92.3% uncomplicated AHI. We propose the following protocol: a computed tomography scan upon arrival and another within 48 h post-AHI, unless there is an absence of clinical symptoms. In addition, all patients must self-administer a clotting factor as soon as possible and be observed in the ED for at least 48 h.
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The aim of this study was to assess the walkout rate and to identify influencing patient and visit characteristics on walkout. Furthermore, we assessed the reasons for leaving and medical care needs after leaving. ⋯ The average observed daily walkout rate was 1.4 patients over the 4-month period. In general, walkouts are self-referrals with lower urgent complaints, arriving during the evening or night shift or during crowded conditions. Most walkouts leave because of perceived long waiting times.
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Observational Study
The paediatric psychiatric emergency population in a university teaching hospital in Belgium (2003-2008).
In the last few decades, there has been a remarkable increase in the number of children and adolescents presenting with psychiatric complaints to the emergency department in the USA. In Europe, however, less is known about the paediatric psychiatric emergency population. This study provides a clinical and demographic profile of this population and its service use in a European context. ⋯ Patients were predominantly female (57.3%) and adolescent (83.3%) and mostly referred for hostility and violence towards others (18.5%) and suicidal ideation (17.8%). For about 1/4 of the patients, PES was the first ever mental health treatment contact. PES could serve as a place for early detection and intervention and as an entry point to mental health services.