Articles: emergency-services.
-
Pediatric emergency care · May 2024
Long-Acting Reversible Contraception Knowledge Among Female Adolescents Presenting to a Pediatric Emergency Department.
The objective of this study was to assess awareness and use of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) among female adolescents presenting to a pediatric emergency department (PED). ⋯ Knowledge about LARC remains low in our PED, despite it being the most effective method of contraception. Even when interventions were made to link interested respondents to outpatient women's health services, follow-up attendance was poor, and no patients obtained LARC. There is a significant discrepancy between the consensus standard of contraception care across all relevant medical specialties and current utilization by high-risk populations. Future efforts must focus on how to close this gap, and the ED could be pivotal for improving both reproductive health education and intervention among adolescent patients.
-
There is a lack of evidence-based guidelines for the administration methods of ceftriaxone in emergency departments (EDs), resulting in the reliance on individual institutional protocols for decision-making. ⋯ IVP administration of ceftriaxone reduced the time of antibiotic administration compared with IVPB, but there was no difference in 28-day mortality.
-
Pediatric emergency care · May 2024
EditorialNew Horizons in Emergency Department Management of Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease.
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an important topic for emergency medicine audiences because complications of the disease account for a large proportion of hematologic emergencies that are seen in the emergency department each year. Early recognition and aggressive management of emergency complications of SCD can help to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with this disease. While the treatment recommendations for some complications of SCD are based on expert opinion, there has been advancement in the understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease and evidence regarding the treatment options available for managing acute complications. This continuing medical education article will provide a summary of the clinical manifestation and management of the most common acute complications of SCD: infection, vaso-occlusive episode, acute chest syndrome, splenic sequestration, stroke, and priapism.
-
To show the procalcitonin (PCT) test demand from an emergency department (ED) over several years, to decrease PCT measurement via a computerized algorithm based on C-reactive protein (CRP) value, and to evaluate the subsequent economic savings. ⋯ An intervention to decrease PCT measurement in the ED designed by the clinical laboratory staff in consensus with requesting clinicians and based on CRP values decreased PCT testing and generated significant economic savings.
-
Pediatric emergency care · May 2024
Factors Influencing Parental Willingness to Consent to a Survey Study for Patients in the Pediatric Emergency Department.
To identify factors that impact parental willingness to consent to research studies conducted for their children during visits to pediatric emergency departments (EDs). ⋯ A high proportion of parents consented to their child participating in research in our ED with previous child participation in research being associated with lower odds of parental consent even when adjusted for other factors. Our findings may inform future research practices and studies investigating parental perceptions and motivations surrounding research studies.