Can J Emerg Med
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Observational Study
A lung ultrasound score for early triage of elderly patients with acute dyspnea.
Lung ultrasound has value in diagnosing dyspnea. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of a modified lung ultrasound (MLUS) score to predict the severity of acute dyspnea in elderly patients. ⋯ An early lung ultrasound score can predict the need for ICU admission and/or death within 48 hours in elderly dyspneic patients.
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The objective of this study was to examine temporal trends in mental health visits to the emergency department (ED) and to determine differences in length of stay (LOS) between mental health visits and visits for non-mental health conditions. ⋯ The number of mental health visits to the ED is linearly increasing over time, and the LOS in the ED is significantly longer for mental health visits for almost all discharge dispositions. Thus, systematic changes are needed to address the ED capacity to provide care for the growing mental health population.