Articles: emergency-services.
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Pediatric emergency care · Feb 2025
The Incidence and Severity of Pediatric Injuries Sustained by Electric Bikes and Powered Scooters: The Experience of an Urban, Tertiary Pediatric Emergency Department.
This study aimed to describe the incidence and severity of electrical bicycle (E-bike)- and power scooter (P-scooter)-related injuries and their secular trends among pediatric patients presenting to a pediatric emergency department (ED). ⋯ The incidence and severity of E-bike and P-scooter injuries and fatalities continue to increase within the pediatric population. Current personal and road safety regulations are providing inadequate in preventing these injuries, highlighting an urgent need for revision and stricter enforcement.
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Observational Study
Patient assessment of the CAPE: A solution to negative pressure isolation in an emergency department.
The Collapsible Aerosolized Particle Enclosure (CAPE) is a negative pressure patient isolation device designed to protect patients and clinicians from aerosolized infectious particles. The CAPE is intended to provide a safe environment for care receipt and delivery when isolation capacity is limited. The goal of this study was to evaluate the acceptability of receiving care in the CAPE from the emergency department (ED) patient perspective. ⋯ In this pilot, prospective, observational study with adult ED patients, the majority of patients found the CAPE comfortable and safe, providing adequate space, and easily accessed. Use of the CAPE with ED patients was feasible and acceptable in our setting, supporting its use as a promising method for expanding isolation space during times of limited negative pressure capacity.
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Case Reports
A Novel Use of Terbutaline: Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder in the Emergency Department.
Persistent genital arousal disorder/genito-pelvic dysesthesia (PGAD/GPD) is a highly distressing, multifactorial disorder characterized by persistent unwanted physiologic genital arousal in the absence of sexual desire. This poorly understood disorder is thought to be derived from a complex dysregulation of biopsychosocial factors with common underlying neurological dysfunction that has yet to be adequately studied. With frequently evolving diagnostic criteria, lack of a standardized treatment algorithm, and few evidence-based treatment options, this disease is largely unrecognized and difficult to treat once identified. ⋯ A 25-year-old woman presented to the Emergency Department (ED) with persistent and refractory symptoms of genital arousal not responsive to previously documented treatments, and the novel use of a β-adrenergic agent, terbutaline, leading to cessation of symptoms. With her initial presentation, lorazepam, haloperidol, and viscous lidocaine intravaginally provided relief for approximately 24 h until the patient returned. At her subsequent presentation, the patient received additional doses of lorazepam and intravaginal lidocaine, as well as consults with Urology and Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her symptoms eventually ceased by administration of terbutaline. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Although presentation of PGAD to the ED is rare, emergency physicians should be prepared with treatment options to assist patients with this distressing diagnosis. This case highlights the novel use of terbutaline, a β-agonist, in cessation of PGAD symptoms when first-line benzodiazepines and antipsychotics fail.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2025
Experience, knowledge, practices and attitudes of emergency department medical staff regarding teledermatology.
The present study aimed to assess self-reported experience, knowledge, practices and attitudes of ED medical staff regarding teledermatology. ⋯ Skin photography image quality, knowledge and adherence to medicolegal policy were poor among ED medical staff. Education could reduce risk and improve outcomes.
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Pediatric emergency care · Feb 2025
The National Emergency Department Overcrowding Scale and Perceived Staff Workload: Evidence for Construct Validity in a Pediatric Setting.
The aim of the study is to determine if there is a correlation between perceived staff workload, measured by the NASA Task Load Index (TLX), and the National Emergency Department Overcrowding Scale (NEDOCS) in a pediatric ED. ⋯ NEDOCS does not have a strong correlation with individual responses on questionnaires of perceived workload for staff in a pediatric ED. NEDOCS, as a measure of overcrowding, may be better correlated with perceived workload during periods with elevated crowding or when interpreted categorically as yes/no "severely overcrowded".