Can J Emerg Med
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Multicenter Study
Risk factors associated with acute in-hospital delirium for patients diagnosed with a hip fracture in the emergency department.
The primary objective was to identify risk factors independently associated with acute in-hospital delirium within 72 hours of emergency department (ED) arrival for patients diagnosed with a hip fracture. ⋯ Advanced age and signs of dementia or neurodegenerative disease are predictors of 72-hour delirium that can be screened for during triage. Improved pain control in the ED may reduce the risk of acute in-hospital delirium.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Effects of a reminder to initiate oral anticoagulation in patients with atrial fibrillation/atrial flutter discharged from the emergency department: REMINDER study.
Oral anticoagulation (OAC) reduces stroke risk in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) or atrial flutter (AFL). However, OAC initiation rates in patients discharged directly from the emergency department (ED) are low. We aimed to address this care gap by implementing a quality improvement intervention. ⋯ Implementation of a quality improvement intervention consisting of a reminder and decision-support tool increased initiation of OAC in high-risk patients. This support package can be readily implemented in other jurisdictions to improve OAC rates for AF/AFL.
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Multicenter Study
Is caregiver refusal of analgesics a barrier to pediatric emergency pain management? A cross-sectional study in two Canadian centres.
The suboptimal provision of analgesia to children in the emergency department (ED) is well-described. A yet unexplored barrier is caregiver or child refusal of analgesia. We sought to evaluate the frequency of caregiver/child acceptance of analgesia offered in the ED. ⋯ Most caregivers/children accept analgesia when offered by ED personnel, suggesting refusal is not a major barrier to optimal management of children’s pain and highlighting the importance of ED personnel in encouraging adequate analgesia. A large proportion of children in pain are not offered analgesia by caregivers or ED personnel. Educational strategies for recognizing and treating pain should be directed at children, caregivers, and ED personnel.
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Multicenter Study
Performance of the French version of the 4AT for screening the elderly for delirium in the emergency department.
Delirium is very frequent in older patients presenting to the emergency department (ED), but is often undetected. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of the French version of the 4 A’s Test (4AT-F) for the detection of delirium and cognitive impairment in older patients. ⋯ The 4AT-F is a fast and reliable screening tool for delirium and cognitive impairment in ED. Due to its quick administration time, it allows a systematic screening of patients at risk of delirium, without significantly increasing the workload of the ED staff.
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Multicenter Study
Evaluation of a primary care paramedic STEMI bypass guideline.
Limited evidence supports primary care paramedic (PCP) direct transport of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The goal of this study was to evaluate an urban-based PCP STEMI bypass guideline. ⋯ We found a significant difference in the distribution of stable and unstable patients and fewer patients with indications for an ACI in PCP patients. This PCP STEMI bypass guideline appears feasible.