The consensus conference on "Advancing Research in Emergency Department (ED) Operations and Its Impact on Patient Care," hosted by The ED Operations Study Group (EDOSG), convened to craft a framework for future investigations in this important but…
ObjectivesThe objective was to review and update key definitions and metrics for emergency department (ED) performance and operations. MethodsForty-five emergency medicine leaders convened for the Third Performance Measures and Benchmarking Summit…
Older patients who present to the emergency department frequently have acute or chronic alterations of their mental status, including their level of consciousness and cognition. Recognizing both acute and chronic changes in cognition are important…
Objectives: Screening for cognitive impairment in older emergency department (ED) patients is recommended to ensure quality care. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) may be too long for routine ED use. Briefer alternatives include the Six-Item…
Three recently published Institute of Medicine reports, Hospital-Based Emergency Care: At the Breaking Point, Emergency Medical Services: At the Crossroads, and Emergency Care for Children: Growing Pains, examined the current state of emergency care…
OBJECTIVES: The Research Agenda Setting Process (RASP), part of the American Geriatric Society's (AGS's) project 'Increasing Geriatric Expertise in Surgical and Related Medical Specialties,' was designed to define a research agenda for the geriatrics…
Background: Cognitive impairment due to delirium or dementia is common in older emergency department (ED) patients. To prevent errors, emergency physicians (EPs) should use brief, sensitive tests to evaluate older patient's mental status. Prior…
Objective: To perform a systematic review of the emergency medicine literature to assess the appropriateness of an intervention to identify, counsel, and refer emergency department (ED) patients > 64 years old who are at high risk for falls. Methods:…
Background: Patients present to police, Emergency Medical Services, and the emergency department with aggressive behavior, altered sensorium, and a host of other signs that may include hyperthermia, "superhuman'' strength, diaphoresis, and lack of…
Background: Emergency departments (ED) are sites of prevalent imaging overuse; however, determinants that drive imaging in this setting are not well-characterized. We systematically reviewed the literature to summarize the determinants of imaging…
Study objective: The prevalence of pulmonary embolism among patients with syncope is understudied. In accordance with a recent study with an exceptionally high pulmonary embolism prevalence, some advocate evaluating all syncope patients for pulmonary…
Emergency departments (EDs), similar to other health care environments, are concerned with improving the quality of patient care. Older patients comprise a large, growing, and particularly vulnerable subset of ED users. The project objective was to…
Vertically unstable sacral fractures often make it difficult to achieve rigid fixation and there is no consensus on the optimal fixation technique for these injuries. The purpose of this Study was to evaluate complication rate and short-term outcome…
BACKGROUND: Many older patients presenting to emergency departments (EDs) with psychiatric complaints require admission to geropsychiatric units (GPUs). The medical evaluation needed prior to this is not understood. Our goal was to understand ED…
Background: Patient satisfaction impacts emergency medicine in multiple ways, including patient-physician rapport, patient compliance with medical recommendations, and individual physician and hospital reimbursement issues. Objective: The objective…
Objective: This study was conducted to assess the ultrasound's (US's) ability to identify pertinent landmarks for lumbar puncture (LP) in patients of various body mass indices (BMIs) and establish spatial relationships of pertinent LP landmarks…
Background: Frailty (defined as weakness, slowness, weight loss, exhaustion, and physical inactivity) is characterized by increased vulnerability to stressors. Frail older patients are at increased risk of Emergency Department (ED) visits,…
Introduction: Intracranial hemorrhages (ICHs) are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Use of oral anticoagulants are a potential risk factor for ICH, and reversal of the anticoagulant with agents such as Four-Factor Prothrombin Complex…
There is a large push to utilize evidence-based practices in medical education. At the same time, credentialing bodies are evaluating the use of simulation technologies to assess the competency and safety of its practitioners. At the 2008 Academic…
This special edition issue for the African Journal of Emergency Medicine was commissioned by the International Federation for Emergency Medicine (IFEM). Within this issue are 14 articles with a focus on conducting research in resource limited…
Background: Freestanding emergency departments (FEDs) introduce a challenge to physicians who care for the patient with an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) because treatment is highly time dependent. FEDs have no percutaneous…
Emergency physicians often must make critical, time-sensitive decisions with a paucity of information with the realization that additional unavailable health information may exist. Health information exchange enables clinician access to patient…
Nationwide survey findings that most U.S. emergency medicine clerkship directors were interested in participating in a methodologically rigorous student testing program prompted the development of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM)…
Background: A National Board of Medical Examiners examination does not exist for Emergency Medicine (EM) students. To fill this void, the Clerkship Directors in Emergency Medicine tasked a committee with development of an examination for 4th-year…
Objective: To determine the value of paramedic judgment in determining the need for trauma team activation (TTA) for pediatric blunt trauma patients. Methods: A prospective, observational study was conducted at the ED of Children's Hospital Medical…
Objective: To describe curling iron-related injuries reported to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) between January 1, 1992, and December 31, 1996. Methods: The authors retrospectively reviewed data from NEISS, a weighted…
Contrast media induced encephalopathy is a rare complication of contrast administration characterized by nonspecific neurological signs and symptoms that may present both clinically and radiolographically as subarachnoid hemorrhage. While there are…
Introduction: Hemolyzed emergency department (ED) blood specimens impose substantial burdens on various aspects of delivering care. The ED has the highest incidence of hemolysis among hospital departments. This study assessed the association and…
INTRODUCTION Smoking remains a major public health issue and a leading cause of death and disability in the United States. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of a simple intervention on smoking guidance, based on the electronic…
Gastrointestinal bleeding is a common and potentially life-threatening problem. The incidence of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is 40 to 150 episodes per 100,000 population per year.(19, 73, 77) Mortality in large series is 6% to 10% for UGIB…
We conducted a multicenter, retrospective cohort study of patients with Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteremia to determine factors associated with antibiotic resistance and mortality. Risk factors were identified using multivariate logistic regression.…
This document by the SAEM Public Health and Education Committee outlines the public health impact of interpersonal violence as it pertains to acute emergency care. This paper provides an overview of violence through the life cycle (i.e., child abuse,…
