Articles: emergency-department.
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Pediatric emergency care · Sep 2024
Low-Acuity Pediatric Emergency Department Utilization: Caregiver Motivations.
Proper emergency department (ED) utilization is a hallmark of population health. Emergency department overcrowding due to nonurgent visits causes increased stress to healthcare staff, higher costs, and longer wait times for more urgent cases. This study sought to better understand post pandemic reasons caregivers have when bringing in their children for nonurgent visits and devise effective interventions to improve caregiver choice for non-ED care for nonurgent conditions. ⋯ This study highlights 3 key findings. An immediate desire for care plays a key role in caregiver decision making for low-acuity visits. There is potential socioeconomic and racial bias in where care is recommended that needs to be further explored in this region. Cross community interventions that target key reasons for seeking low-acuity care have the highest likelihood of impacting the use of the ED for low-acuity conditions.
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To assess whether older adults who spend a night in emergency departments (ED) awaiting admission are at increased risk of mortality. This was a retrospective review of a multipurpose cohort that recruited all patients ≥ 75 years who visited ED and were admitted to hospital on April 1 to 7, 2019, at 52 EDs across Spain. Study groups were: patients staying in ED from midnight until 8:00 a.m. (ED group) and patients admitted to a ward before midnight (ward group). ⋯ There were no differences in prolonged hospitalization (> 7 days), with adjusted OR of 1.16 (0.94-1.43) and 1.15 (0.94-1.42) depending on whether time spent in the ED was or was not taken into consideration. No increased risk of in-hospital mortality or prolonged hospitalization was found in older patients waiting overnight in the ED for admission. Nonetheless, all estimations suggest a potential harmful effect of staying overnight, especially if a proper bedroom and hospitalist ward bed and hospitalized care are not provided.
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Pediatric emergency care · Sep 2024
Impact of COVID-19 and Public Health Measures on Positive Suicide Screens Among Emergency Department Children.
The aim of this study was to examine the association between prolonged time in the COVID-19 pandemic and rates of positive routine suicide screens among youth accessing healthcare in the pediatric emergency department. ⋯ Cumulative time in the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increased positive suicide screens in children. School reopening and normalization of social routines preceded an observed negative trend in rates of positive suicide screens in Y2 of the pandemic. This study demonstrates fluctuating trends in suicide screen positivity, potentially influenced by social distancing and public health measures. Our study may support that maintaining social connectedness and access to school-based or community resources may be a protective factor for youth suicide risk during a pandemic or other natural occurrence.