Search Tag: emergency department
2018 01 Jun
Presents the main principles of the Norwegian acute healthcare system. Norway is a rather small country with a population of about 5.3 million. More than half of these inhabitants are located in and around the larger cities, with about a million in the capital region of Oslo. Hence, significant parts of the country are rural, with fjords...Read more
2018 29 May
In the Procalcitonin Antibiotic Consensus Trial (ProACT), the use of a procalcitonin-guided antibiotic prescription guideline did not result in less exposure to antibiotics than did usual care among patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with suspected lower respiratory tract infection. Overuse of antibiotics is common in infections...Read more
2017 14 Nov
Identifying headache patients who are at risk of aneurysms can be difficult as they often seem otherwise well. In view of this, researchers at The Ottawa Hospital (Ontario) have developed a new tool designed to help emergency departments identify high-risk patients and improve survival rates. The tool is called The Ottawa Subarachnoid Haemorrhage Rule...Read more
2017 03 Oct
Researchers in Spain have developed a new tool to better assess risk of mortality from heart failure. The simple tool makes use of readily available data to accurately estimate the 30-day mortality risk for patients admitted to the emergency department with acute heart failure, according to a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Emergency...Read more
2017 11 Jul
A system of rapid review of critically ill patients in the emergency department (ED) is associated with reduced ED length of stay and improved intensive care unit (ICU) outcomes, suggests a new study to appear in Journal of Critical Care. You might also like : Fluid Responsiveness in Emergency Care In 2012, a National Emergency Access Target...Read more
2017 27 Jun
Sepsis most often presents to the emergency department (ED), and delayed detection is harmful. The white blood count (WBC) is often used to detect sepsis in the ED. New research shows that volume increases of circulating immune cells, or monocytes, adds value to the WBC for early sepsis detection in the ED. "This study shows that the monocyte distribution...Read more
2017 29 Apr
According to a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, it is safe for physicians to use the HEART (History, ECG, Age, Risk factors, and initial Troponin) score to make important decisions regarding admission, observation or discharge in patients presenting to the emergency department with chest pain. However, the study highlights...Read more
2017 26 Feb
The need for further imaging studies may be avoided when initial emergency department (ED) ultrasound examinations are interpreted by a radiologist than a nonradiologist, according to a new study by the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute. The findings are published in Journal of the American College of Radiology. See Also: Radiologists...Read more
2016 09 Dec
INTRODUCTION In Germany, emergency departments (EDs) often suffer from overcrowding, which may lead to stressful working conditions, increased risks for patients and costs for additional staff, as well as for investments in equipment. Furthermore, overcrowding has the potential to extend patient waiting times, in some cases rising up...Read more
2016 27 Sep
Use of point-of-care test devices in the emergency department has shown significant benefits in patient management. A proper governance policy will ensure credible, effective and safe practice. Emergency Department (ED) practices have evolved, modified and developed pathways over the years to recognise and initiate appropriate early treatment...Read more
2016 27 Sep
Many patients presenting to the hospital emergency department do not need to stay overnight. Ambulatory emergency care (AEC) may optimise identification and management of such patients by delivering streamlined, efficient patient care within one working day. This may improve clinical outcomes, patient experience and lower costs. At James...Read more
2016 22 Feb
Advice for emergency care for patients with acute heart failure was published for the first time in the European Heart Journal: Acute Cardiovascular Care. Despite the fact that acute heart failure is associated with a high risk of death, effective care guidelines lag behind nearly 30 years. Only half of patients who are discharged with acute heart...Read more
2016 30 Jan
A study published in Emergency Medicine Journal shows that patients admitted in medical emergencies during the weekend are usually older and more dependent as compared to patients admitted on other days of the week. This could explain the high death toll of patients admitted in emergency on weekends. Staffing levels may also play a role in the...Read more
2016 25 Jan
The American College of Cardiology and American College of Radiology have released new recommendations for diagnosing chest pain in the emergency department. The document outlines appropriate use of diagnostic imaging in 20 fundamental clinical scenarios for emergency imaging for chest pain. The clinical scenarios are broken down into leading critical...Read more
2015 22 Dec
A hospital in the UK has adopted a novel technique for technical skill training — used initially for difficult airway training — to train anaesthetic and intensive care unit (ICU) staff for intraosseous (IO) access, according to an article published in the journal Resuscitation . The authors say the training approach can be applied to many resuscitation...Read more
2015 21 Dec
As part of their training, medical students have become involved in bedside care and this has raised concerns over the possible effect on quality of care. Now, new research from University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine shows that the presence of trainees does not slow care in the emergency department (ED). The results indicate a balance between...Read more
2015 23 Nov
Emergency departments (ED) are usually designed in a linear flow, attaching nurses or physicians to particular patients and specific tasks. However, this type of system is vulnerable to uneven staff low, high patient levels, and a backflow of ED discharge. If an ED was designed to be more versatile and facilitate more effective teamwork, it would...Read more
2015 23 Nov
In emergency department settings, overuse of computed tomography (CT) for minor head injury continues despite rigorously validated clinical decision rules like the Canadian CT Head Rule (CCHR). Medical experts say one in every three CT scans performed on patients with minor head injury is unnecessary. New research from Yale University has found that,...Read more
2015 23 Oct
Close collaboration between the emergency department (ED) and intensive care unit (ICU) and standardised ICU admission criteria for patients with sepsis can significantly reduce mortality rate and care costs, according to new research published in CHEST Journal. "Although ICU level of care is costly, earlier inclusion of borderline patients may improve...Read more
2015 14 Oct
In emergency department settings, CT scan results can substantially change physicians' diagnoses, diagnostic confidence, and admission decisions, according to a new study from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Institute for Technology Assessment. The finding, reported in the journal Radiology , adds important information to health policy debates...Read more
2015 28 Sep
Use of Lean management methodology to improve care efficiencies is new for healthcare. A new report in The Journal of Nursing Administration describes how a Lean-based in the emergency department of a large hospital significantly reduced patients’ wait times and length of stay, while improving patient throughput and satisfaction level. The approach...Read more
2015 10 Sep
Results of an Israeli study indicate that ethnic differences, including during periods of armed conflicts, have no effect on pain treatment in children who visit the emergency departments with broken bones or joint dislocations. These paediatric patients with fracture or dislocation received equal pain treatment in the ED regardless of their ethnicity...Read more
2015 05 Sep
The UCLA Center for Prehospital Care and collaborators from the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agency and the Glendale and Santa Monica fire departments have launched two pilot programmes that are designed to reduce hospital readmissions and address overcrowding in emergency rooms. The Community Paramedic Pilot Programs will expand...Read more
2015 10 Aug
An article published in Annals of Emergency Medicine offers guidance on maximising the value of health information exchange (HIE) in emergency departments. The report lists five primary and seven secondary recommendations made by an emergency physician-led workgroup to improve HIE in the emergency room. "HIE helps emergency physicians — who usually...Read more
2015 23 Jul
Emergency physicians can safely reduce x-rays in children with injured ankles by as much as 23 percent, resulting in cost and time savings for patients, according to Canadian researchers who conducted a cost analysis of the Low Risk Ankle Rule (LRAR). The findings are reported in the journal Annals of Emergency Medicine . "Currently, x-rays are ordered...Read more
2015 19 Jul
In order to provide better health care, it is important for hospitals to reduce their wait times, particularly in the emergency department (ED). It is a fact that patients who are treated quickly have better health outcomes as compared to those who have to wait for a long time. This is especially true for health conditions such as heart attacks and...Read more
2015 23 Jun
Two randomised controlled trials of patient-administered patient relief in the emergency department have found that they are effective in reducing pain. Currently, patients arriving in emergency departments may be administered morphine intravenously by a nurse. Whilst this is safe and works, it takes up nursing time. Two randomised controlled trials...Read more