Articles: emergency-department.
-
To describe women presenting to the emergency department (ED) for previously undiagnosed pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Secondary objective was to determine rates of outpatient specialty follow-up and factors associated with accessing follow-up care. ⋯ POP causes sufficient distress to prompt an ED encounter. A subset of women overrepresented by Black and publicly insured women utilize the ED for initial POP evaluation, when compared to patients who access initial outpatient POP care. A minority of patients underwent outpatient follow-up. Further research is needed to understand care-seeking behaviors for POP and barriers to timely outpatient follow-up care.
-
Extreme weather events due to human activities have significantly increased the frequency and severity of hydrological disasters like floods, impacting human health and healthcare systems worldwide. This study analyses the patterns of emergency service utilisation of the May 2023 flood in Romagna, Italy, and specifically investigates the differences in emergency department (ED) visits and mortality between individuals exposed and not exposed to the flood. ⋯ The May 2023 flood in Romagna revealed enhanced vulnerability of the directly affected population, as shown by higher acuity ED presentations and subsequent hospitalisations, as well as more visits for trauma and mental health.
-
Rapid identification of individuals with acute respiratory infections is crucial for preventing nosocomial infections. For rapid diagnosis, especially in EDs, lateral flow devices (LFDs) are a convenient, inexpensive option with a rapid turnaround. Several 'multiplex' LFDs (M-LFDs) now exist, testing for multiple pathogens from a single swab sample. We evaluated the real-world performance of M-LFD versus PCR testing in detecting influenza A, B and SARS-CoV-2) in the ED setting. ⋯ The real-world performance of SureScreen M-LFD was consistent with laboratory evaluation and achieved a high sensitivity for individuals with high viral concentration, most likely to be infectious. Given the representative UK population sample, results could be generalised for use in other settings.
-
Observational Study
Prehospital lactate analysis in suspected sepsis improves detection of patients with increased mortality risk: an observational study.
Rapid, adequate treatment is crucial to reduce mortality in sepsis. Risk stratification scores used at emergency departments (ED) are limited in detecting all septic patients with increased mortality risk. We assessed whether the addition of prehospital lactate analysis to clinical risk stratification tools improves detection of patients with increased risk for rapid deterioration and death in sepsis. ⋯ The addition of a prehospital lactate level > 3 mmol/l improved early recognition of individuals with increased mortality risk in a cohort with suspected sepsis admitted to the ED. This was particularly evident in patients whose risk stratification scores did not indicate severe illness. We suggest that the addition of prehospital lactate analysis could improve recognition of subjects with suspected sepsis and increased mortality risk.