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Select units in the military have improved combat medic training by integrating their functions into routine clinical care activities with measurable improvements in battlefield care. This level of integration is currently limited to special operations units. It is unknown if regular Army units and combat medics can emulate these successes. The goal of this project was to determine whether US Army combat medics can be integrated into routine emergency department (ED) clinical care, specifically medication administration.

This was a quality assurance project that monitored training of combat medics to administer parenteral medications and to ensure patient safety. Combat medics were provided training that included direct supervision during medication administration. Once proficiency was demonstrated, combat medics would prepare the medications under direct supervision, followed by indirect supervision during administration. As part of the quality assurance and safety processes, combat medics were required to document all medication administrations, supervising provider, and unexpected adverse events. Additional quality assurance follow-up occurred via complete chart review by the project lead.

During the project period, the combat medics administered the following medications: ketamine (n=13), morphine (n=8), ketorolac (n=7), fentanyl (n=5), ondansetron (n=4), and other (n=6). No adverse events or patient safety events were reported by the combat medics or discovered during the quality assurance process.

In this limited case series, combat medics safely administered parenteral medications under indirect provider supervision. Future research is needed to further develop this training model for both the military and civilian setting.

Schauer SG , Cunningham C W, Fisher AD , DeLorenzo RA . A pilot project demonstrating that combat medics can safely administer parenteral medications in the emergency department.

Patients with cardiovascular diseases are common in the emergency department (ED), and continuity of care following that visit is needed to ensure that they receive evidence-based diagnostic tests and therapy. We examined the frequency of follow-up care after discharge from an ED with a new diagnosis of one of three cardiovascular diseases.

We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients with a new diagnosis of heart failure, atrial fibrillation, or hypertension, who were discharged from 157 non-pediatric EDs in Ontario, Canada, between April 2007 and March 2014. We determined the frequency of follow-up care with a family physician, cardiologist, or internist within seven and 30 days, and assessed the association of patient, emergency physician, and family physician characteristics with obtaining follow-up care using cause-specific hazard modeling.

There were 41,485 qualifying ED visits. Just under half (47.0%) had follow-up care within seven days, with 78.7% seen by 30 days. Patients with serious comorbidities (renal failure, dementia, COPD, stroke, coronary artery disease, and cancer) had a lower adjusted hazard of obtaining 7-day follow-up care (HRs 0.77-0.95) and 30-day follow-up care (HR 0.76-0.95). The only emergency physician characteristic associated with follow-up care was 5-year emergency medicine specialty training (HR 1.11). Compared to those whose family physician was remunerated via a primarily fee-for-service model, patients were less likely to obtain 7-day follow-up care if their family physician was remunerated via three types of capitation models (HR 0.72, 0.81, 0.85) or via traditional fee-for-service (HR 0.91). Findings were similar for 30-day follow-up care.

Only half of patients discharged from an ED with a new diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and hypertension were seen within a week of being discharged. Patients with significant comorbidities were less likely to obtain follow-up care, as were those with a family physician who was remunerated via primarily capitation methods.

Older adults are a potentially medically vulnerable population with increased mortality rates during and after disasters. To evaluate the impact of a natural disaster on this population, we performed a temporal and geospatial analysis of emergency department (ED) use by adults aged 65 years and older in New York City (NYC) following Hurricane Sandy’s landfall.

We used an all-payer claims database to analyze demographics, insurance status, geographic distribution, and health conditions for post-disaster ED visits among older adults. We compared ED patterns of use in the weeks before and after Hurricane Sandy throughout NYC and the most afflicted evacuation zones.

We found significant increases in ED utilization by older adults (and disproportionately higher in those aged ≥85 years) in the 3 weeks after Hurricane Sandy, especially in NYC evacuation zone one. Primary diagnoses with notable increases included dialysis, electrolyte disorders, and prescription refills. Secondary diagnoses highlighted homelessness and care access issues.

Older adults display heightened risk for worse health outcomes with increased ED visits after a disaster. Our findings suggest the need for dedicated resources and planning for older adults following a natural disaster by ensuring access to medical facilities, prescriptions, dialysis, and safe housing and by optimizing health care delivery needs to reduce the burden of chronic disease. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;page 1 of 10)

The Public Health England (PHE; United Kingdom) Real-Time Syndromic Surveillance Team (ReSST) currently operates four national syndromic surveillance systems, including an emergency department system. A system based on ambulance data might provide an additional measure of the “severe” end of the clinical disease spectrum. This report describes the findings and lessons learned from the development and preliminary assessment of a pilot syndromic surveillance system using ambulance data from the West Midlands (WM) region in England.

Is an Ambulance Data Syndromic Surveillance System (ADSSS) feasible and of utility in enhancing the existing suite of PHE syndromic surveillance systems?

An ADSSS was designed, implemented, and a pilot conducted from September 1, 2015 through March 1, 2016. Surveillance cases were defined as calls to the West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) regarding patients who were assigned any of 11 specified chief presenting complaints (CPCs) during the pilot period. The WMAS collected anonymized data on cases and transferred the dataset daily to ReSST, which contained anonymized information on patients’ demographics, partial postcode of patients’ location, and CPC. The 11 CPCs covered a broad range of syndromes. The dataset was analyzed descriptively each week to determine trends and key epidemiological characteristics of patients, and an automated statistical algorithm was employed daily to detect higher than expected number of calls. A preliminary assessment was undertaken to assess the feasibility, utility (including quality of key indicators), and timeliness of the system for syndromic surveillance purposes. Lessons learned and challenges were identified and recorded during the design and implementation of the system.

The pilot ADSSS collected 207,331 records of individual ambulance calls (daily mean=1,133; range=923-1,350). The ADSSS was found to be timely in detecting seasonal changes in patterns of respiratory infections and increases in case numbers during seasonal events.

Further validation is necessary; however, the findings from the assessment of the pilot ADSSS suggest that selected, but not all, ambulance indicators appear to have some utility for syndromic surveillance purposes in England. There are certain challenges that need to be addressed when designing and implementing similar systems.

Todkill D , Loveridge P , Elliot AJ , Morbey RA , Edeghere O , Rayment-Bishop T , Rayment-Bishop C , Thornes JE , Smith G . Utility of Ambulance Data for Real-Time Syndromic Surveillance: A Pilot in the West Midlands Region, United Kingdom. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(6):1–6.

We wished to determine the impact of emergency department (ED) mobility assessments for older patients on hospitalization, return visits, future falls, and frailty.

We searched MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PEDro, and OTseeker (September 2016). Two independent reviewers identified studies of patients ≥65 years with ED physical mobility assessments and outcomes of hospitalization, return to ED, falls, and frailty. Language was not restricted. Only clinical trials and observational studies were included.

We identified 1,365 unique citations. Nine studies (six cohort and three cross-sectional) met full inclusion criteria. Patients (n=2,513) with mean age 75-85 years, admitted to hospital and discharged, underwent these ED evaluations: Timed Up and Go (TUG), Get Up and Go, tandem walk, and a gait assessment. Study quality was moderate to poor. Tandem walk did not predict falls at 90 days. TUG was not associated with return to the ED/hospitalization at 90 days. Get Up and Go was associated with hospital admission but not return to ED visits at 1 or 3 months. Due to clinical heterogeneity in study populations and outcomes, a meta-analysis was not undertaken.

Despite multiple guidelines recommending a mobility assessment prior to ED discharge for older patients, we found that such assessments were neither associated with nor predictive of adverse outcomes. Robust research is required to guide clinicians on the utility of physical mobility assessments in older ED patients.

The primary objective of this study was to identify information included in long-term care (LTC) transfer documentation and to compare it to the information required by local emergency department (ED) physicians to provide optimal care and make decisions for LTC patients.

A retrospective chart review was conducted for a sample of LTC residents transferred by ambulance to the ED of an academic, tertiary care hospital over a 1-year period. All emergency physicians working at the institution were invited to complete an online questionnaire about information included in LTC transfer documentation and information required by emergency physicians to provide care for LTC patients.

Of the 200 charts reviewed, the most common information transferred to the ED with the LTC patient was the patient’s past medical history (n=184, 92.0%), name of family physician (n=182, 91.0%), a list of known allergies (n=179, 89.5%), the reason for transfer to the ED (n=155, 77.5%), the patient’s emergency contact information (n=152, 76.0%), and medication administration record (n=150, 75.0%). From a physician’s perspective, the most frequently requested pieces of information included reason for transfer, past medical history, cognitive status, advanced directives for level of care and resuscitation, and the patient’s emergency contact information. This information was provided 77.5% (n=155), 92.0% (n=184), 24.0% (n=48), 62.0% (n=124), and 76.0% (n=152) of the time, respectively.

Our study demonstrates a clear discrepancy between information provided and information required by emergency physicians for LTC patients. Quality improvement initiatives at the local level may help reduce this discrepancy.

Worldwide, tobacco smoke is still the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality. Many smokers develop chronic smoking-related conditions that require emergency department (ED) visits. However, best practices for ED smoking cessation counselling are still unclear.

A randomized controlled trial was conducted to determine whether an “ask, advise, and refer” approach increases 12-month, 30-day quit rates in the stable adult ED smoking population compared to usual care. Patients in the intervention group were referred to a community counselling service that offers a quitline, a text-based program, and a Web-based program. Longitudinal intention-to-treat analyses were performed.

From November 2011 to March 2013, 1,295 patients were enrolled from one academic tertiary care ED. Six hundred thirty-five were allocated to usual care, and 660 were allocated to intervention. Follow-up data were available for 70% of all patients at 12 months. There was no statistically significant difference in 12-month, 30-day quit rates between the two groups. However, there was a trend towards higher 7-day quit attempts, 7-day quit rates, and 30-day quit rates at 3, 6, and 12 months in the intervention group.

In this study, there was a trend towards increased smoking cessation following referral to a community counselling service. There was no statistically significant difference. However, if ED smoking cessation efforts were to provide even a small positive effect, such an intervention may have a significant public health impact given the extensive reach of emergency physicians.

Physician variation in the use of computed tomography (CT) is concerning due to the risks of ionizing radiation, cost, and downstream effects of unnecessary testing. The objectives of this study were to describe variation in CT-ordering rates among emergency physicians (EPs), to measure correlation between perceived and actual CT-ordering rates, to assess attitudes that influence decisions to order imaging tests, and to identify EP attitudes associated with higher CT utilization.

This study was a retrospective review of imaging and administrative billing records at two emergency department sites of a tertiary care adult teaching hospital. The study also included a cross-sectional survey of EPs at this hospital. We asked physicians about their perceived ordering behaviour, and what factors influenced their decision to order a CT. We examined correlations between perceived and actual CT-ordering rates. We adjusted ordering rates for shift distribution using a logistic regression model and identified outlier physicians whose ordering rate was significantly lower or higher than expected. We used multivariable regression analysis to determine which survey responses predicted higher CT utilization.

During the study period, 59 EPs saw 45,854 patients, and ordered 6,609 CTs — a mean ordering rate of 14.4% (standard deviation (SD)=4.3%). The ordering rate for individual physicians ranged from 5.9% to 25.9%. Of the 59 EPs, 13 EPs were low-ordering outliers; 12 were high-ordering outliers. Forty-five EPs (76.3%) completed the survey. Mean perceived ordering rate was 12.6%, and was weakly correlated with actual ordering (r=0.19, p=0.21). 42 EPs (93.3%) believed they ordered “about the same” or “fewer” CTs than their peers. Of the 17 EPs in the two highest ordering quintiles, only 3 (18%) knew they were high orderers. In the multivariable analysis, higher ordering was associated with increasing strength of response to the following predictors: medico-legal risk (relative risk [RR]=1.18, 95% CI: 1.03–1.21), risk of contrast (RR=1.14, 95% CI: 1.07–1.22), what colleagues would do (RR=1.09, 95% CI: 0.99–1.19), risk of missing a diagnosis (RR=1.08, 95% CI: 0.98–1.21), and patient wishes (RR=1.07, 95% CI: 0.97–1.17).

There is large variation in CT ordering among EPs. Physicians’ self-reported ordering rate correlates poorly with actual ordering. High CT orderers were rarely aware that they ordered more than their colleagues. Higher rates of ordering were observed among physicians who reported increased concern with 1) risk of missing a diagnosis, 2) medico-legal risk, 3) risk of contrast, 4) patient wishes, and 5) what colleagues would do.

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) improves outcomes in patients with respiratory distress. Additional benefits are seen with CPAP application in the prehospital setting. Theoretical safety concerns regarding Basic Life Support (BLS) providers using CPAP exist. In Delaware’s (USA) two-tiered Emergency Medical Service (EMS) system, BLS often arrives before Advanced Life Support (ALS).

This study fills a gap in literature by evaluating the safety of CPAP applied by BLS prior to ALS arrival.

This was a retrospective, observational study using Quality Assurance (QA) data collected from October 2009 through December 2012 throughout a state BLS CPAP pilot program; CPAP training was provided to BLS providers prior to participation. Collected data include pulse-oximetry (spO2), respiratory rate (RR), heart rate (HR), skin color, and Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) before and after CPAP application. Pre-CPAP and post-CPAP values were compared using McNemar’s and t-tests. Advanced practitioners evaluated whether CPAP was correctly applied and monitored and whether the patient condition was “improved,” “unchanged,” or “worsened.”

Seventy-four patients received CPAP by BLS; CPAP was correctly indicated and applied for all 74 patients. Respiratory status and CPAP were appropriately monitored and documented in the majority of cases (98.6%). A total of 89.2% of patients improved and 4.1% worsened; CPAP significantly reduced the proportion of patients with SpO2<92%, RR>24, and cyanosis (P<.01). The GCS improved from mean (standard deviation [SD]) 13.9 (SD=1.9) to 14.1 (SD=1.9) after CPAP (mean difference [MD]=0.17; 95% CI, -0.49 to 0.83; P=.59). The HR decreased from 115.7 (SD=53) to 105.1 (SD=37) after CPAP (MD=-10.9; 95% CI, -3.2 to -18.6; P<.01). The SpO2 increased from 80.8% (SD=11.4) to 96.9% (SD=4.2) after CPAP (MD=17.8; 95% CI, 14.2-21.5; P<.01).

The BLS providers were able to determine patients for whom CPAP was indicated, to apply it correctly, and to appropriately monitor the status of these patients. The majority of patients who received CPAP by BLS providers had improvement in their clinical status and vital signs. The findings suggest that CPAP can be safely used by BLS providers with appropriate training.

Sahu N , Matthews P , Groner K , Papas MA , Megargel R . Observational Study on Safety of Prehospital BLS CPAP in Dyspnea. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(6):1–5.

Health care costs are on the rise in Canada and the sustainability of our health care system is at risk. As gatekeepers to patient care, emergency department (ED) physicians have a direct impact on health care costs. We aimed to identify current levels of cost awareness among ED physicians. By understanding the current level of physician cost awareness, we hope to identify areas where cost education would provide the greatest benefit in reducing ordering costs.

We conducted a survey evaluating current awareness of common ordering costs among ED physicians from two tertiary teaching hospitals. Our study population was comprised of 124, certified emergency medicine staff physicians and emergency medicine resident physicians. Our survey asked ED physicians to estimate the costs of 41 items across four categories of day-to-day ordering: imaging investigations, materials, laboratory tests, and pharmaceuticals. Items were selected based on frequency of use, availability of cost-effective alternatives, and tests considered to be “low yield”. The primary outcome was percentages of underestimates, correct estimates, and overestimates for ED costs among ED physicians.

The average percentage of correct cost estimates among ED physicians was 14% across the four ordering categories. Where cost-effective alternatives exist, ED physicians overestimated the cost of the more cost-effective item. They also underestimated the cost of low-yield tests.

ED physicians demonstrated limited cost awareness of common health care costs. Further studies that characterize utilization of hospital resources based on ED physician awareness of cost-effective alternatives and cost of “low yield” tests are needed.

The aim of the study is to determine the performance of low-dose ketamine (LDK) as an analgesic for acute pain management in adult patients in the emergency department (ED).

We systematically reviewed electronic databases, grey literature, conference abstracts, and clinical trial registries. Two independent reviewers identified eligible studies. These selections were subsequently reviewed by one reviewer who identified the final eligible studies, using refined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Our outcome measures included the analgesic effect of LDK, need for rescue analgesia, and neuropsychological adverse events secondary to LDK use. We assessed inter-rater agreement using kappa statistics and proposed a treatment recommendation using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) software. Heterogeneity among studies precluded meta-analysis.

Our electronic search identified 1,408 records; 44 were selected for full evaluation (kappa=0.70), and 8 were included after the final review. All six randomized controlled trials and two observational studies were set in the ED where LDK was administered to adult patients ( >18 years old) exclusively for pain management. All studies had an overall low risk of bias. There was extensive variation in the dose and route of LDK used (0.1-0.7 mg/kg SC/IV/IM), administration protocols, and use of adjunct analgesia. Overall, most studies reported a significant analgesic effect of LDK with occasional need for rescue analgesia and mild-to-moderate adverse events (dizziness, dysphoria, and confusion).

There are moderate to low quality data supporting LDK as an alternative analgesic in the ED with the potential for minimal requirement of rescue analgesia and self-limited neuropsychological adverse events.

Vertigo is common in the emergency department (ED). Most aetiologies are peripheral and do not require hospitalization, but many patients still fear falling. Some patients may be taking opioid analgesic medications (for other reasons); the risk of falls leading to fractures among patients with vertigo could be potentiated by the simultaneous use of opioids.

To examine the risk of fractures in discharged ED patients with peripheral vertigo who were being prescribed opioids during the same time period.

Linked administrative databases from Ontario were used to compare discharged ED patients aged ≥65 with peripheral vertigo to patients with urinary tract infection (UTI) from 2006 to 2011. We used Cox regression analysis with an interaction term to estimate the modifying effect of an opioid prescription on the hazard of fracture within 90 days.

There were 13,012 patients with a peripheral vertigo syndrome and 76,885 with a UTI. Thirteen percent of the vertigo cohort and 25% of the UTI cohort had access to a filled opioid prescription. Compared to vertigo patients who did not fill an opioid prescription, the adjusted hazard of fracture among vertigo patients who did fill a prescription was 3.59 (95% CI 1.97–6.13). Among UTI patients who filled an opioid prescription the hazard ratio was 1.68 (95% CI 1.43–1.97) compared to UTI patients who did not.

Patients discharged from the ED with peripheral vertigo who were also being prescribed opioids had a higher hazard of subsequent fracture compared to those who were not, and the effect was much greater than among UTI patients. These results suggest that in the acutely vertiginous older patient, opioid analgesic medications should be modified, where possible.

The use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) such as rivaroxaban (Xarelto) is increasingly common. However, therapies for reversing anticoagulation in the event of hemorrhage are limited. This study investigates the ability of hemostatic agents to improve the coagulation of rivaroxaban-anticoagulated blood, as measured by rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM).

If a chitosan-based hemostatic agent (Celox), which works independently of the clotting cascade, is applied to rivaroxaban-anticoagulated blood, it should improve coagulation by decreasing clotting time (CT), decreasing clot formation time (CFT), and increasing maximum clot firmness (MCF). If a kaolin-based hemostatic agent (QuikClot Combat Gauze), which works primarily by augmenting the clotting cascade upstream of factor Xa (FXa), is applied to rivaroxaban-anticoagulated blood, it will not be effective at improving coagulation.

Patients (age >18 years; non-pregnant) on rivaroxaban, presenting to the emergency department (ED) at two large, university-based medical centers, were recruited. Subjects (n=8) had blood drawn and analyzed using ROTEM with and without the presence of a kaolin-based and a chitosan-based hemostatic agent. The percentage of patients whose ROTEM parameters responded to the hemostatic agent and percent changes in coagulation parameters were calculated.

Data points analyzed included: CT, CFT, and MCF. Of the samples treated with a kaolin-based hemostatic agent, seven (87.5%) showed reductions in CT, eight (100.0%) showed reductions in CFT, and six (75.0%) showed increases in MCF. The average percent change in CT, CFT, and MCF for all patients was 32.5% (Standard Deviation [SD]: 286; Range:-75.3 to 740.7%); -66.0% (SD:14.4; Range: -91.4 to -44.1%); and 4.70% (SD: 6.10; Range: -4.8 to 15.1%), respectively. The corresponding median percent changes were -68.1%, -64.0%, and 5.2%. Of samples treated with a chitosan-based agent, six (75.0%) showed reductions in CT, three (37.5%) showed reductions in CFT, and five (62.5%) showed increases in MCF. The average percent changes for CT, CFT, and MCF for all patients were 165.0% (SD: 629; Range:-96.9 to 1718.5%); 139.0% (SD: 174; Range: -83.3 to 348.0%); and -8.38% (SD: 32.7; Range:-88.7 to 10.4%), respectively. The corresponding median percent changes were -53.7%, 141.8%, and 3.0%.

Rotational thromboelastometry detects changes in coagulation parameters caused by hemostatics applied to rivaroxaban-anticoagulated blood. These changes trended in the direction towards improved coagulability, suggesting that kaolin-based and chitosan-based hemostatics may be effective at improving coagulation in these patients.

Bar J , David A , Khader T , Mulcare M , Tedeschi C . Assessing Coagulation by Rotational Thromboelastometry (ROTEM) in Rivaroxaban-Anticoagulated Blood Using Hemostatic Agents. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(5):1–8.

Strategies that reduce the time to antimicrobial administration, such as the availability of premix antimicrobials (PMAs) in the emergency department (ED), may better align with the goals of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign and improve outcomes in septic patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of antimicrobial preparation on time to administration in septic patients located in the emergency department (ED).

This was a retrospective, single-center, cohort study and adult patients with a diagnosis of sepsis who received at least one initial intravenous (IV) antimicrobial in the ED were included. Time to complete an empiric antimicrobial therapy was defined as the time between prescriber order entry and the infusion initiation time of the final antimicrobial agent of a patient’s antimicrobial regimen. Appropriate, empiric antimicrobial therapy was based on treatment recommendations by nationally accepted guidelines for the specific indication.

The first antimicrobial was initiated earlier when available as a PMA preparation (median (IQR): premix 25 minutes (16.5-42.3) vs. non-premix 46 minutes (20-102), p=0.027). When comparing complete, empiric antimicrobial regimen administration, there was no difference in time to administration between regimens containing one or more non-premix antimicrobials and regimens containing all PMAs (median (IQR): premix 69 minutes (21-115) vs. non-premix 65 minutes (38.5-133.8); p=0.455).

PMA preparations significantly reduced time to administration of the first antimicrobial agent for septic patients treated in the ED, but time to administration of subsequent antimicrobials were not improved.

Clinical handover by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) staff, as the first people who have contact with trauma patients, in the emergency department (ED), is very important. Therefore, effective communication to transfer clinical information about patients in a concise, rational, clear, and time-bound manner is essential. In Iran, the transfer of necessary information in clinical handover in EDs was carried out orally and without following standard instructions. This study aimed to audit the current clinical handover according to the Identify, Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation (ISBAR) tool and survey the effect of training the ISBAR tool to Emergency Medicine Assistants (EMAs) and EMS staff on improvement of the clinical handover of patients to the ED.

This is a clinical audit study in three phases in Imam Hossein Hospital (Tehran, Iran) during 2016. In the first phase, the clinical handover between EMS staff and EMAs for 178 trauma patients admitted to the ED using ISBAR was audited and information was recorded. In the second phase, the correct approach of clinical handover according to the ISBAR tool was taught to EMS staff and EMAs using pamphlets and lectures. In the third phase, again, the clinical handover between EMS staff and EMAs for 168 trauma patients admitted to the ED was audited using the ISBAR tool and information was recorded. At the end, clinical audit assessment indicators of handover were evaluated before and after training.

Clinical audit of the current situation in the ED showed that the clinical handover process does not follow standard ISBAR (0.0%). However, after training, 65.3% of clinical handover processes were performed in accordance with ISBAR. In the current study, there was an increase in all parameters of the ISBAR tool after training, most of which increased significantly compared to the first phase of the study (before the intervention).

Findings demonstrate that patient handover in the ED did not initially follow the ISBAR standard guideline. After providing education as pamphlets and lectures to EMS staff and EMAs, a high percentage of patient handovers were conducted in accordance with the ISBAR instructions.

Fahim Yegane SA , Shahrami A , Hatamabadi HR , Hosseini-Zijoud SM . Clinical Information Transfer between EMS Staff and Emergency Medicine Assistants during Handover of Trauma Patients. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(5):1–7.

Although many studies have delineated the variety and magnitude of impacts that climate change is likely to have on health, very little is known about how well hospitals are poised to respond to these impacts.

The hypothesis is that most modern hospitals in urban areas in the United States need to augment their current disaster planning to include climate-related impacts.

Using Los Angeles County (California USA) as a case study, historical data for emergency department (ED) visits and projections for extreme-heat events were used to determine how much climate change is likely to increase ED visits by mid-century for each hospital. In addition, historical data about the location of wildfires in Los Angeles County and projections for increased frequency of both wildfires and flooding related to sea-level rise were used to identify which area hospitals will have an increased risk of climate-related wildfires or flooding at mid-century.

Only a small fraction of the total number of predicted ED visits at mid-century would likely to be due to climate change. By contrast, a significant portion of hospitals in Los Angeles County are in close proximity to very high fire hazard severity zones (VHFHSZs) and would be at greater risk to wildfire impacts as a result of climate change by mid-century. One hospital in Los Angeles County was anticipated to be at greater risk due to flooding by mid-century as a result of climate-related sea-level rise.

This analysis suggests that several Los Angeles County hospitals should focus their climate-change-related planning on building resiliency to wildfires.

Adelaine SA , Sato M , Jin Y , Godwin H . An Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on Los Angeles (California USA) Hospitals, Wildfires Highest Priority. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(5):1–7.

To determine the number of urine cultures ordered for women who presented to the emergency department (ED) with symptoms of uncomplicated UTI, and whether a culture result impacted subsequent management.

This was a retrospective chart review of non-pregnant women aged 18-39 presenting to one of two academic EDs with a discharge diagnosis of uncomplicated UTI over a one-year study period. Patients were excluded if there was documentation of fever, immunocompromised state, diabetes mellitus, absence of lower urinary tract symptoms, ED administration of intravenous antibiotics, a previous UTI treated with antibiotics in the last 90 days, two weeks post-partum or post-instrumentation.

Of the 512 charts included in the analysis, 494 (96.5%) patients had a urinalysis, of which 463 (93.7%) had positive leukocyte esterase and 90 (18.2%) had positive nitrites. 370 patients (72.3%) had urine cultures performed, of which 236 (63.8%) were positive. 505 (98.6%) patients received antibiotics (53.9% Macrobid; 22.6% Ciprofloxacin; 15.0% Septra; 6.7% other; 1.8% not documented). 7 (1.9%) cultures grew organisms resistant to the prescribed antibiotic; 2 (0.5%) patients received new prescriptions.

For the majority of young female patients with an uncomplicated UTI, urine cultures did not change management in the ED setting. However, when the diagnosis is uncertain based on symptomology and urinalyses alone, a urine culture may be warranted. Greater efforts should be directed towards educating emergency physicians on accurately diagnosing uncomplicated cystitis and the limited impact of urine cultures on treatment once a diagnosis has been made.