Articles: emergency-services.
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Emergency Department (ED) Observation Units (OU) can provide safe, effective care for low risk patients with intracranial hemorrhages. We compared current ED OU use for patients with subdural hematomas (SDH) to the validated Brain Injury Guidelines (BIG) to evaluate the potential impact of implementing this risk stratification tool. ⋯ In a level 1 trauma center with an established observation unit, current clinical care processes missed very few patients who could be discharged or placed in ED OU for SDH. Hospital admissions in BIG 1/2 were driven by co-morbidities and/or injuries, limiting applicability of BIG to this population.
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Dtsch. Med. Wochenschr. · Aug 2024
Review[Monitoring of cardiovascular emergencies in the emergency department].
In the emergency department, patients with potential or confirmed cardiovascular diseases constitute a significant portion of the overall patient population. Monitoring for cardiovascular surveillance of these patients, until and during the diagnostics and acute therapy often presents an interdisciplinary and interprofessional challenge. This is partly due to the limited number of monitoring spaces in emergency departments. ⋯ The provision of an intensive care bed for further care within one hour is aimed for according to the directive of the Federal Joint Committee on staged emergency care in hospitals. Often, at the beginning of the emergency department visit, a definitive diagnosis is not yet established - this is addressed accordingly with symptom-oriented considerations. The present review article focuses on the practical Implementation and modalities of monitoring, as well as its application in a selection of cardiovascular diagnoses in the emergency department.
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We present a three patient case series of infants who presented to the pediatric emergency department with fever, bulging anterior fontanelle (BAF), and an omicron variant COVID-19 infection. All patients had a benign course, none developed meningitis, and all had symptom resolution after two days. ⋯ This case series adds to the previously published case reports of infants with COVID-19, fever and BAF and further describes a variant in the presenting symptomology of COVID-19 infection in infants under 12 months. Acute and primary care providers who treat infants should consider COVID-19 testing in patients who are well appearing, with fever and BAF.
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Observational Study
Suctioning in the management of bronchiolitis: A prospective observational study.
Bronchiolitis accounts for a considerable number of Emergency Department (ED) visits by infants each year and is the leading cause of respiratory infection in children 2 years of age and younger. Suctioning remains one of the main supportive treatments, but suctioning practices of nasal aspiration and deep suctioning vary among practitioners in bronchiolitis management. Our objective was to explore associations between suction type and respiratory distress, oxygen saturation, and markers of respiratory compromise such as airway escalation, disposition, ED length of stay (LOS), and outpatient outcomes. ⋯ There was no difference in respiratory scores or outpatient outcomes between suction types. Deep suctioning may not be needed in all infants with bronchiolitis.
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Pediatric emergency care · Aug 2024
Process and Impact of Development of an Adolescent Emergency Psychiatry Unit at a Large Urban Hospital.
Boarding of adolescent patients with mental health concerns requiring ongoing observation and treatment is of increasing concern across US emergency departments. The objective was a proof of concept of developing an adolescent psychiatric emergency unit and assessment of the impact of this unit on lengths of stay (LOS). ⋯ Creation of an adolescent psychiatric emergency unit without allotment of significant additional resources is an option to decrease pediatric emergency department boarding times for adolescent patients requiring ongoing emergent therapy for mental health concerns.