Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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Health systems face major challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic with new information and challenges emerging daily and frequently changing guidelines. Online forward triage tools (OFTTs) provide useful information, direct patients and free physician resources. We implemented an OFTT targeted at the current pandemic, adapted the content and goals and assessed its effects. ⋯ It may ease the burden on the healthcare system, reassure patients and inform authorities. To account for the dynamic development of the pandemic, frequent adaptation of the tool is of great importance. Further research on clinical outcomes of OFTT is urgently needed.
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Observational Study
Characteristics of frequent paediatric users of emergency departments in England: an observational study using routine national data.
Frequent attendances of the same users in emergency departments (ED) can intensify workload pressures and are common among children, yet little is known about the characteristics of paediatric frequent users in EDs. ⋯ One in 11 children was a frequent attender. Interventions for reducing paediatric frequent attendance need to target infants and families living in deprived areas.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
COVID-19 aerosol box as protection from droplet and aerosol contaminations in healthcare workers performing airway intubation: a randomised cross-over simulation study.
Concerns over high transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2 have led to innovation and usage of an aerosol box to protect healthcare workers during airway intubation in patients with COVID-19. Its efficacy as a barrier protection in addition to the use of a standard personal protective equipment (PPE) is not fully known. We performed a simulated study to investigate the relationship between aerosol box usage during intubation and contaminations on healthcare workers pre-doffing and post-doffing of PPE. ⋯ An aerosol box may significantly reduce exposure to contaminations but with increased intubation time and reduced operator's mobility and visibility. Furthermore, the difference in degree of contamination between using and not using an aerosol box could be offset by proper doffing of PPE.
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Apnoeic oxygenation (ApOx) has been demonstrated to reduce the incidence of desaturation, although evidence of benefit has been conflicting depending on the technique used. The aim of this study was to compare the incidence of desaturation between patients who received ApOx via conventional nasal cannula (NC) and those who did not, using a large, multicentre airway registry.