Can J Emerg Med
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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.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Rhythm and rate control of atrial fibrillation in the emergency department - A large community-based observational study.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia presentation to the emergency department (ED) and frequently results in admission to the hospital. Although rarely life-threatening and not usually an emergent condition, AF places a large burden on our health-care system. The objective of this study was to describe the practices of ED physicians in the management of AF in a large urban Canadian city. ⋯ Our data suggest a wide range of practice amongst ED physicians treating patients presenting to the ED with a primary diagnosis of AF. A randomized trial is needed to better understand the optimal management strategy in this patient population and setting.
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In the fast pace of the Emergency Department (ED), clinicians are in need of tailored screening tools to detect seniors who are at risk of adverse outcomes. We aimed to explore the usefulness of the Bergman-Paris Question (BPQ) to expose potential undetected geriatric syndromes in community-living seniors presenting to the ED. ⋯ The Bergman-Paris Question could be an ED screening tool for possible geriatric syndrome. A positive BPQ should prompt the need of further investigations and a negative BPQ possibly warrants no further action. More research is needed to validate the usefulness of the BPQ for day-to-day geriatric screening by ED professionals or geriatricians.
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Some centres favour early intervention for ureteral colic while others prefer trial of spontaneous passage, and relative outcomes are poorly described. Calgary and Vancouver have similar populations and physician expertise, but differing approaches to ureteral colic. We studied 60-day hospitalization and intervention rates for patients having a first emergency department (ED) visit for ureteral colic in these diverse systems. ⋯ An early interventional approach was associated with higher ED revisit, hospitalization and intervention rates. If these events are markers of patient disability, then a less interventional approach to small stones and earlier definitive management of large stones may reduce system utilization and improve outcomes for patients with acute ureteral colic.