J Emerg Med
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Pain management is critical to the management of patients in the emergency department (ED). The clinical decision-making process for prescribing medications is complicated by its subjective nature. Historically, racial and ethnic minority groups and women have not had their pain managed as aggressively as White and male patients. ⋯ Although differences in pain management practices have been explored previously, this study provided a large, updated, multifacility assessment that confirmed that race- and sex-based differences in pain management persist, specifically in the decision to treat with narcotics. Further investigation is warranted to determine the root causes of these differences.
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Women have higher mortality from acute coronary syndrome (ACS) compared with men. Women may hesitate to search for emergency care when experiencing chest pain, which delays treatment. ⋯ In this population-level study of Curitiba, Brazil, the reduction in ED visits during the COVID-19 pandemic was greater in women than in men, particularly among those > 70 years of age, suggesting that the sex- and age-related disparities in health care delivery for ACS may have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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There are concerns that emergency health care workers are exposed to ionizing radiation as the result of frequent portable radiographs obtained in the emergency department (ED) during active patient care. ⋯ The level of radiation exposure to ED staff found in this study was well below the recommended allowable occupational exposure of 50 mSv/y. Radiation exposure is not a significant occupational hazard in a busy ED level I trauma center. Existing precautions should adequately protect staff from occupational exposure, and use of further protective gear, or the need for individual monitoring using dosimeters, appears unwarranted.
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Observational Study
Improvement of Procedure Documentation Compliance With the Implementation of a Visual Aid.
Emergency department (ED) providers face increasing task burdens and requirements related to documentation and paperwork. To decrease the mental task burden for providers, our institution developed an infographic that illustrates which forms are necessary for complete documentation of nonemergent invasive procedures. ⋯ Implementing an invasive procedure documentation infographic and direct feedback improved overall documentation compliance for nonemergent invasive procedures.