Articles: emergency-services.
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Pediatric emergency care · Mar 2023
Examining Parental Acceptance of Confidential Contraception Initiation in a Pediatric Emergency Department.
The pediatric emergency department (PED) is a valuable site for contraceptive services among adolescents at risk for pregnancy. Studies have shown that adolescents are interested in such services; however, little is known about parental opinions on contraceptive care in the PED. We aimed to (1) assess parental acceptance of confidential provisions of contraception in the PED and (2) identify facilitators/barriers to parental acceptance of contraception in this setting. ⋯ Although most parents were accepting of the PED provider offering confidential contraception to their adolescent, more parents preferred to be involved with decisions regarding contraception, in a collaborative approach. Further research is necessary to better elucidate parental/adolescent preferences.
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Access to emergency medical care in Ontario has been under stress, mainly due to a lack of human resources (staffing of nurses and doctors). Over the past year, several emergency departments in Ontario have closed. Some of these closures are nightly, while others have closed for weeks at a time, leaving Ontario residents without access to emergency medical care which can lead to poor or more severe outcomes. The purpose of this paper was to examine how closures of ED's in Ontario have influenced potential access to emergency medical care. ⋯ ED closures have led to decreases in potential access to emergency care for predominantly rural populations. Health human resource recovery strategies must focus on areas where lack of overlap exists.
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Background Patients visiting the emergency department (ED) may show variations by certain time periods such as Ramadan. We wished to ascertain whether Ramadan affects the ED presentations, clinical conditions and outcomes of patients aged 65 years or older. Methods. ⋯ Conclusion. Our study detected no significant difference between the two groups with respect to the time of presentation and ED outcomes. Patients who presented in Ramadan had a lower incidence of CNS complaints; a higher incidence of cardiovascular diagnoses; lower incidences of CNS, oncological and otorhinolaryngological diagnoses and a significantly shorter length of ED stay.
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Background. We investigated the demographic, aetiological and clinical characteristics of patients who presented to the emergency department and had severe hyponatraemia. Methods. ⋯ Conclusion. Severe hyponatraemia was more prevalent in women, serum sodium levels were higher in conscious patients, and the mortality rate was higher in patients who had a history of cirrhosis and cancer. We found that the mean serum sodium levels did not help in distinguishing between the deceased and discharged patients.
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Chest radiography (CXR) continues to be the most frequently performed imaging examination worldwide, yet it remains prone to frequent errors in interpretation. These pose potential adverse consequences to patients and are a leading motivation for medical malpractice lawsuits. ⋯ The medicolegal implications of such errors are explained. Awareness of commonly missed CXR findings, their causes, and their consequences are important in developing approaches to reduce and mitigate these errors.