Emergencias
-
Comparative Study
[Impact of an emergency department short-stay unit on clinical management and quality of hospital care indicators].
The primary aim was to study the impact that creating a short-stay unit (SSU) had on clinical management and quality of care indicators of a hospital overall and its conventional wards. The secondary aim was to establish values for those indicators and determine the level of satisfaction of patients admitted to the SSU. ⋯ Our experience suggests that opening a SSU could improve clinical management and quality of care indicators for a hospital overall and for its conventional wards in the context of the GRDs that most frequently lead to admissions.
-
This objective was to analyze prehospital management of acute childhood poisonings. Poisonings treated in 59 pediatric emergency departments participating in the Toxicology Observation Project of the Spanish Society of Pediatric Emergency Medicine were registered prospectively between 2008 and 2014. We analyzed consultations made and treatments received before the patient arrived in the emergency department. ⋯ About half the cases that consulted a poisoning service but did not receive treatment before coming to a hospital did receive treatment in the hospital emergency department. We conclude that a substantial percentage of patients who seek care for childhood poisoning from an emergency department have also consulted a prehospital service. Better prehospital management of such cases could facilitate earlier treatment when required and also preempt unnecessary trips to pediatric emergency departments.
-
The new European Union directives affecting clinical trials of medicines introduced important changes for Spain, leading to the publication of a Royal Decree regulating the conduct of clinical trials that went into effect in January 2016. The decree sets out the principles for complying with the EU directives, regulates the work of institutional review boards (IRBs) or ethics committees that review research proposals, introduces means to facilitate clinical research, and clarifies the role of the Spanish register of clinical trials, among other topics. ⋯ These concepts may be particularly useful for clinical trials designed by emergency medicine physicians. We also comment on changes affecting vulnerable populations and the documents that must be presented to both the researchers' IRB and the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Care Products.
-
This case series explored the usefulness of an inhaled dose of 9.1 mg of loxapine administered outside the hospital to treat psychomotor agitation related to schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or schizoaffective disorder. The Clinical Global Impression Scale and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (excitement component) were used to assess the effects of treatment in 14 patients. ⋯ Mechanical restraint and parenteral medication can be avoided after use of this drug. Loxapine treatment shortens the agitation episode and attenuates the impact on the patient, facilitating ambulance transfer.