Articles: emergency-department.
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Pediatric emergency department (PED) patients often present with non-urgent complaints. We attempted to estimate the perceived degree of urgency of the visit and to identify reasons for seeking non-urgent care in the PED by patients and parents. ⋯ More than half of patients and parents presenting to the PED believed they had minor or somewhat urgent complaints. While the majority of patients have a regular provider, limited access to timely primary care and convenience may make the PED a more attractive care option than primary care for many parents and patients.
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Three of the most commonly used agents for conscious sedation in the Emergency Department (ED) are ketamine, fentanyl/versed, and propofol. In this study, we measured and compared the total times spent in the ED with each of these agents. Our objective was to determine whether the use of propofol for conscious sedation was associated with a shorter length of ED stay as compared to the other two agents. ⋯ In this study, sedation and recovery times were shorter with propofol than with ketamine or fentanyl/versed. The use of propofol for conscious sedation in this non-randomized study was associated with a shorter ED length of stay.
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Emergency medicine (EM) residents work intimately with emergency department staff, and many residents become staff at the institutions that train them. As such, it is in the interest of all training sites to attract the strongest candidates to their programs. The goal of this study was to determine what factors make programs most appealing to EM residency applicants. ⋯ These data suggest that the most important factors are "interactions with a program" and program characteristics. Both of these are largely within a program's control. By striving to make their curriculum, interview days and medical student electives more appealing a residency program can improve its ability to attract the strongest residency candidates.
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To determine the proportion of patients vaccinated with pneumococcal (PVAX) and influenza (IVAX) vaccines under an emergency department (ED) vaccination program, that would not otherwise have been vaccinated by other primary care resources. ⋯ An ED-based program can result in the vaccination of a significant proportion of patients eligible for IVAX and/or PVAX who would otherwise likely go unprotected.
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There is an increasing awareness of unvaccinated adults presenting with epiglottitis to the emergency department. This study examines the clinical presentations and outcomes of diagnosed cases of adult epiglottitis presenting to all emergency departments in Hamilton, Ont., between 1999 and 2003. ⋯ Adults presenting with epiglottitis to the emergency department in Hamilton have good outcomes, with less airway management required than previously reported in children. Further study is needed to see if these conclusions are similar in other populations.