Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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To identify the factors considered by parents to be most important in determining overall satisfaction with care in a children's emergency department, and to assess whether these factors are influenced by the child's age and triage category. ⋯ Despite recent emphasis on waiting times and emergency department throughput in the UK, parents still value the clinical interaction above process issues when their child visits an emergency department. Current efforts to reduce the time spent by children in an emergency department must not undermine the core service values that are most appreciated by parents, and which will lead to the greatest satisfaction.
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Case Reports
Acute aortic dissection mimicking an acute coronary syndrome through occlusion of the right coronary artery.
Occlusion of the right coronary artery (RCA) is an uncommon complication of type A aortic dissection. Aortic dissection and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) share a similar pathogenesis in atherosclerosis and hypertension. ⋯ He subsequently deteriorated clinically and imaging confirmed type A aortic dissection complicated by RCA occlusion. Following emergent surgery with aortic root replacement and coronary artery bypass grafting he later made a good recovery.
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Until recently South Africa had no triage system for emergency department (ED) use. The Cape triage group developed a triage scale called the Cape triage score (CTS). This system consists of a basic physiology score, mobility score and a short list of important discriminators that cannot be accurately triaged on a physiological score alone. Highest priority is given to a red colour code, followed by orange, yellow and green. ⋯ The amended CTS has an acceptably low undertriage rate and is capable of predicting patient disposal over a wide spectrum of ED presentations.