Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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A short-cut review was carried out to establish the sensitivity and specificity of CRP as a tool for diagnosing bacteraemia. Three studies were directly 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 suggests that CRP is not a useful tool in the initial diagnosis of severe bacterial infection.
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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.
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Consultant based delivery of emergency service is perceived to add value. This study aims to demonstrate the impact of such a service model based on consultant working in a UK emergency department. ⋯ A consultant based service delivery offers many advantages. These cannot be matched by either junior or middle grades. This would be in addition to the consultants' supervisory role. Consultant expansion is urgently required to achieve this sustainably. A further study evaluating the cost benefits of this service model is now underway.