Articles: emergency-services.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Reducing hospital costs for the geriatric patient admitted from the emergency department: a randomized trial.
To test the impact of a geriatric evaluation and management model on the costs of acute hospital management of emergently admitted older adults. ⋯ When controlled for important predictors of expected resource use, care provided by a geriatric management team resulted in a significant reduction in the cost of hospitalization. A reduction in the cost of laboratory, cardiographic, and pharmacy services is consistent with the team's philosophy of defining the services needed based on goals related to functional outcomes.
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This paper gives an overview of research which analysed the nurse's role in the UK trauma team. A prospective study was carried out of 100 trauma patients in 6 UK Accident and Emergency (A & E) departments. ⋯ In comparison, departments with teams secured the airway and obtained intravenous access in 100% of the cases observed. The results highlighted that a structured organised team, with predetermined roles and responsibilities for both nursing and medical staff, has a direct bearing on patient outcome.
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Comparative Study
The risk of developing an acute coronary event as a measure of the quality of triage of patients presenting to the emergency room with chest pain.
The risk of developing an acute coronary event (ACE) in patients presenting to the emergency room with chest pain or shortness of breath was assessed in a prospective blinded fashion. The Time Insensitive Predictive Instrument (TIPI), which is appropriate for both prospective and retrospective assessment, was used to determine the risk. The average predictive probability for developing ACE among the 168 patients examined was 36.5%. ⋯ Among patients presenting with ACE the predictive probability determined using TIPI was 57.6% compared to 26.3% in patients without ACE. This difference was unaffected by the triage process or the decision where to hospitalize. TIPI permits assessment of the emergency room physician's decisions and also mirrors the limitations of the system as a whole in treating patients referred to the emergency room for a suspected acute coronary event.