Articles: hospital-emergency-service.
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This article reviews the need for empathy, and what happens in its absence in an acute hospital setting, using the example of a homeless man in an emergency department. Three simple but meaningful changes that all healthcare practitioners can make are recommended to promote empathy.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2023
ReviewClosing the miscommunication gap: A user guide to developing picture-based communication tools for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in emergency departments.
To document an illustration-based methodology for culturally safe communication between Indigenous patients and clinicians in an urban ED. ⋯ Co-design methodologies can guide improvements in culturally safe clinical communication with First Nations patients in EDs.
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Delirium is an acute neurological disorder that involves attention and cognition. It is associated with a high risk of morbidity and mortality among older people (>65 years old). In the context of the Emergency Department (ED), it is frequently experienced by patients but often not recognized. ⋯ We conducted a review of the literature, including randomized control trials, clinical and observational studies, and research studies published in recent years, confirming that most of the screening tools for delirium used in the intensive care unit (ICU) or the geriatric department have not been tested in the ED, and the ideal timing and form of the delirium assessment process for older adults have not been defined yet. The aim of our review is to summarize the updated evidence about the screening tools for delirium in the context of the ED, due to the fact that overcrowding of the ED and the stressful condition of emergency situations (that contribute to the onset of delirium) could expose older patients to a high risk of complications and mortality if delirium is not promptly recognized. In conclusion, we support the evidence that delirium is a current and real condition that emergency physicians have to face daily, and we are aware that more research is needed to explore this field in order to improve the overall outcomes of older patients admitted to the ED.
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Many patients are initially diagnosed with a new suspected cancer through the emergency department (ED). The objective of this systematic review was to compare stage of cancer and survival of patients diagnosed with cancer through the ED to patients diagnosed elsewhere. ⋯ Patients with an ED diagnosis of cancer had more advanced/late stage of cancer at diagnosis and worse survival compared to patients diagnosed elsewhere. Future research examining patients diagnosed with cancer through the ED is required.
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Older adults are at high risk of developing delirium in the emergency department (ED); however, it is often missed or undertreated. Improving ED delirium care is challenging in part due to a lack of standards to guide best practice. Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) translate evidence into recommendations to improve practice. ⋯ This study has been registered in the Open Science Framework registries: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/TG7S6OSF.IO/TG7S6.