Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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To assess the relationship between reported chest pain symptoms and a diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and serious cardiopulmonary diagnoses (SCPD) in black males, white males, black females and white females. ⋯ Chest pain symptoms are important predictors of ACS and SCPD in certain combinations of race and gender but less so in others. These differences might explain difficulties using symptoms to identify patients at higher or lower risk of ACS and SCPD in practice.
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This study describes the profile of people with mental disorders attending emergency departments (EDs) in two countries and to identify specific mental disorders associated with repeat emergency visits. ⋯ Certain mental disorders may be predictive of more frequent ED visits. The different results for each country suggest that further studies might focus not only on the characteristics of patients, but also on local healthcare organisation.
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Co-location of primary care services with Emergency Departments (ED) is one initiative aiming to reduce the burden on EDs of patients attending with non-urgent problems. However, the extent to which these services are operating within or alongside EDs is not currently known.This study aimed to create a typology of co-located primary care services in operation across Yorkshire and Humber (Y&H) as well as identify early barriers and facilitators to their implementation and sustainability. ⋯ Creating a service within or alongside the ED in which GPs can use their distinct skills and therefore add value to the existing skill mix of ED staff is an important consideration when setting up these systems. Effective triage arrangements should also be established to ensure appropriate patients are referred to GPs. Further research is required to identify the full range of models nationally and to carry out a rigorous assessment of their impact.