Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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This is the first study of suicide attempts and completions in the emergency department (ED) in a large national medical system. ⋯ Based on these results the following recommendations are made for helping to reduce suicide attempts in the ED: (1) use a systematic protocol and checklist to review mental health holding areas periodically in the ED for suicidal hazards; (2) develop and implement specialised protocols for suicidal patients that include continuous observation when possible; (3) conduct thorough contraband searches with suicidal patients; (4) designate specialised holding areas, when practically possible, for suicidal patients that are free of anchor points for hanging, sharps and medications, and medical equipment; and are isolated from exits to reduce the risk of elopement.
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A short-cut review was carried out to establish whether ambulatory patients immobilized in a below knee plaster of paris cast and administered with a prophylactic dose anticoagulation with low molecular weight heparin; LMWH can benefit from a reduced risk of venous thromboembolism within the next 90 days One Cochrane Review was relevant to the question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these papers are tabulated. The clinical bottom line is that the use of LMWH thromboprophylaxis is effective at reducing the incidence of VTE in these patients.
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To describe the common medical presenting problems of children attending a paediatric emergency department (ED) compared with 10 years previously. ⋯ Over a 10-year period, there has been a rise in the number of people attending the ED with medical conditions. The 10 most common presenting problems account for 85% of medical attendees. These results suggest the increasing utilisation of ED services for children with common medical presenting problems and should inform further research exploring the pathways for attendance and the thresholds in seeking medical advice in order to inform the commissioning of paediatric emergency and urgent care services.
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To develop and validate models to predict emergency department (ED) presentations and hospital admissions for time and day of the year. ⋯ Valid ED prediction tools can be generated from access to de-identified historic data, which may be used to assist elective surgery scheduling and bed management. The paper provides forecasting performance levels to guide similar studies.