Articles: emergency-services.
-
Annals of family medicine · Nov 2024
Development of an Emergency Department Surge Plan Based on the NEDOCS score.
Context: Emergency Department (ED) overcrowding is a significant problem worldwide. Many factors contribute to ED overcrowding, including staffing shortages, diagnostic testing delays, and inadequate inpatient beds to meet the demand. ED overcrowding results in patient safety issues like higher inpatient mortality and other negative impacts, such as an increased length of stay (LOS) and an increased trend of leaving the ED before undergoing an evaluation and treatment. ⋯ Conclusions: Our study suggests that implementing an ED adult surge plan can significantly improve ED hold hours and NEDOCS scores. However, it is important to note that other important ED throughput metrics (mean ED LOS, left without seen rate, mean door-to-doctor exam time) did not significantly improve. Further research may be necessary to understand the factors contributing to these outcomes and identify additional interventions that may improve ED throughput.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Investigating the Efficacy of a Handheld Fan Intervention in Children With Dyspnea: A Randomized Controlled Study.
Dyspnea associated with acute respiratory tract infections is a common cause of emergency admissions and can be distressing for children. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a handheld fan intervention on physiological parameters in pediatric patients with dyspnea. ⋯ The handheld fan intervention effectively supports inhaler treatment for children with dyspnea. Further studies are recommended to assess its impact across different age groups and clinical conditions.
-
Airway management is a key intervention during the resuscitation of critically ill trauma patients. Emergency surgical airway (ESA) placement is taught as a backup option when endotracheal intubation (ETI) fails. We sought to (1) describe the incidence of the emergency department (ED) ESA, (2) compare ESA versus ETI-only recipients, and (3) determine which factors were associated with receipt of an ESA. ⋯ ESA placement is a rarely performed procedure but frequently used as a primary airway intervention in this dataset. Penetrating mechanisms, and injuries to face were most associated with ESA placement. Our findings reinforce the need to maintain this critical airway skill for trauma management.
-
Postgraduate medicine · Nov 2024
Comparative StudyExploring the potential of artificial intelligence models for triage in the emergency department.
To perform a comparative analysis of the three-level triage protocol conducted by triage nurses and emergency medicine doctors with the use of ChatGPT, Gemini, and Pi, which are recognized artificial intelligence (AI) models widely used in the daily life. ⋯ The undertriage rates observed in AI models were considerably high. Hence, it does not yet seem appropriate to solely rely on the specified AI models for triage purposes in the emergency department.
-
Observational Study
Geriatric screening in the emergency department increases consultations to geriatric medicine and physical and occupational therapy: A pre/post cohort study.
The Geriatric Emergency Department (ED) Guidelines recommend screening older patients for need for evaluation by geriatric medicine, physical therapy (PT), and occupational therapy (OT), but explicit evidence that geriatric screening changes care compared to physician gestalt is lacking. We assessed changes in multidisciplinary consultation after implementation of standardized geriatric screening in the ED. ⋯ Geriatric screening was associated with increased consultations/referrals to geriatrics, PT, and OT in the ED and ED observation unit. This suggests that geriatric screening changes ED care for older adults.