In the United States and around the world, effective, efficient, and reliable strategies to provide emergency care to aging adults is challenging crowded emergency departments ( EDs) and strained healthcare systems. In response, geriatric emergency…
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…
BACKGROUND: Older patients may visit the emergency department (ED) when their illness affects their function. OBJECTIVES: To quantify the function of older ED patients, to assess whether functional decline (FD) had occurred, and to determine whether…
OBJECTIVES: To characterize emergency medicine (EM) program directors (PDs) and compare the data, where possible, with those from other related published studies. METHODS: An online survey was e-mailed in 2002 to all EM PDs of programs that were…
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…
OBJECTIVES: Pain related to the gurney is a frequent complaint of older emergency department (ED) patients. The authors hypothesized that these patients may have less pain and higher satisfaction if allowed to sit in a reclining hospital chair.…
A noninvasive temporal artery thermometer that uses arterial heat balance technology has been compared to rectal and ear thermometry and is available in the marketplace. This study was undertaken to establish mean temperatures and temperatures 2…
BACKGROUND: Injuries are a common reason for emergency department (ED) visits by older patients. Although injuries in older patients can be serious, 75% of these patients are discharged home after their ED visit. These patients may be at risk for…
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…
OBJECTIVE: To describe emergency medicine residents' (EMRs') personal computer (PC) use and educational needs and to compare their perceived and actual PC skills. METHODS: This was a prospective, cross-sectional study. Subjects were all EMRs at seven…
BACKGROUND: Hip fracture is a significant injury for older persons. Little has been reported about emergency department (ED) care of these patients. OBJECTIVE: To characterize the management of older patients treated in the ED for hip fracture with…
This article provides an overview of health promotion and disease and injury prevention concepts. It provides an emergency medicine perspective and reviews approaches that can be used in the emergency department. It discusses examples of innovative…
BACKGROUND: The objectives of this study are to estimate the prevalence of weakness and fatigue visits in older emergency department (ED) patients, to compare demographics and resource use in these patients with those without these complaints, and to…
This trial was conducted at 11 EDs to test the effectiveness of distributing fall prevention information to patients 65 years or older. Intervention patients were given 2 brochures and received a reminder call 2 weeks later. All patients were called…
