Articles: emergency-services.
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Emergency physicians frequently face death, yet many are unprepared to deal with the family survivors of a patient who has died unexpectedly. Without the benefit of establishing prior rapport with the family, the emergency physician must anticipate the family's grief response so that he or she can intervene to avoid an unnecessarily prolonged or morbid grief reaction. ⋯ Certain key actions in the process of notifying survivors, viewing the body, concluding the emergency department visit, and following up after the patient's death help facilitate survivor grief in the least traumatic way possible. Emergency Departments can improve their dealing with death by instituting a team approach using doctors, nurses, social workers, and clergy to better support family members in their emergency department experience and to provide a link with community service organizations helpful to the family after they leave the hospital.
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Clinical Trial
Impact of portable pulse oximetry on arterial blood gas test ordering in an urban emergency department.
To determine the impact of portable pulse oximetry on physician use of arterial blood gas tests (ABGs) in an urban emergency department. ⋯ Portable pulse oximetry can provide a simple, noninvasive way to determine oxygen saturation in the ED. Routine use of portable pulse oximetry may substantially reduce rates of ABG testing and associated patient charges without adversely affecting the quality of emergency care.
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Emerg. Med. Clin. North Am. · Feb 1991
ReviewEvaluation of behavioral and cognitive changes: the mental status examination.
Patients who present to the Emergency Department with a behavioral or cognitive disorder should be treated in an organized fashion. The most important element of their care is determining the etiology of their abnormality, whether organic or functional. ⋯ It must be focused and brief. By focusing on seven major areas (affect, attention, language, orientation, memory, visual-spatial ability, and conceptualization), a quick and thorough examination of the patient's mental status can be performed.
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This paper describes an evaluation of the short-stay ward at Guy's Hospital Accident and Emergency Department. It includes an audit of the operational policy, the care provided to patients, and the impact of the short-stay ward on hospital admissions. The results indicate that by concentrating patients in a short-stay ward, the quality of care is improved, delays are reduced, and the pressure on inpatient beds is relieved.