Articles: emergency-department.
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Although falls are common, costly, and often preventable, emergency department (ED)-initiated fall screening and prevention efforts are rare. The Geriatric Emergency Medicine Applied Research Falls core (GEAR-Falls) was created to identify existing research gaps and to prioritize future fall research foci. ⋯ Harmonizing definitions, research methods, and outcomes is needed for direct comparison of studies. The need to identify ED-appropriate fall risk assessment tools and role of emergency medical services (EMS) personnel persists. Multifactorial interventions, especially involving exercise, are more efficacious in reducing recurrent falls, but more studies are needed to compare appropriate bundle combinations. GEAR prioritizes five research priorities: (1) EMS role in improving fall-related outcomes, (2) identifying optimal ED fall assessment tools, (3) clarifying patient-prioritized fall interventions and outcomes, (4) standardizing uniform fall ascertainment and measured outcomes, and (5) exploring ideal intervention components.
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Int. J. Clin. Pract. · Nov 2021
Impact of pharmacist-led interventions on patient care in ambulatory care settings: A systematic review.
In an era of rapid evolution in healthcare delivery, major changes have occurred within the profession of pharmacist. Because the impact of pharmacist-led interventions in the hospital setting has been well-studied and showed mixed findings on drug-related readmissions, all-cause emergency department visits and mortality, this systematic review focused on services provided by pharmacists in the community or ambulatory care setting without being limited to a specific intervention or outcome. ⋯ Our results showed that CMR can play a major role in the management of drug-related problems and economic issues. AR can significantly improve patient compliance. Larger, standardised and rigorously designed intervention studies are needed to help decision-makers to select appropriate interventions leading to meaningful improvements in patient care.
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Abdominal pain is one of the most common presenting complaints to the emergency department (ED). More often than not, some degree of laboratory testing is used to narrow the differential diagnosis based on the patient's history and examination. Ordering practices are often guided by evidence, habit, consulting services, and institutional/regional culture. This review highlights relevant laboratory studies that may be ordered in the ED, as well as commentary on indications and diagnostic value of these tests.
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Several guidelines on the evaluation of patients with suspected cervical spine trauma in the Emergency Department (ED) exist. High heterogeneity between different guidelines has been reported. Aim of this study was to find areas of agreement and disagreement between guidelines, to identify topics in which further research is needed and to provide an evidence-based cervical spine trauma algorithm for ED physicians. ⋯ The agreement between different guidelines and the evidence on which recommendations are based is low. An attempt to build an evidence-based algorithm has been made. More studies are needed on many topics.
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J Subst Abuse Treat · Oct 2021
ReviewHow emergency department visits for substance use disorders have evolved during the early COVID-19 pandemic.
Higher opioid overdoses and drug use have reportedly occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. We provide evidence on how emergency department (ED) visits for substance use disorders (SUD) changed in the early pandemic period. ⋯ The 2020/2019 ratios of SUD ED visits fell substantially early in the COVID-19 pandemic, yet less than non-SUD, non-COVID ED visits. SUD ED visit ratios partly or fully recovered to 2019 levels by early June 2020, but did not exceed early 2020 ratios.