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If a middle-aged woman walked into your ED and told you she felt as if something terrible was going to happen to her, but denied any other symptoms, what would you suspect?
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(Editor's note: This story is part two of a two-part series on care of psychiatric patients in the ED. This month reports on the best ED nursing practices for reassessment during long waits. Last month, we gave tips for identifying underlying medical conditions.)
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"Many times in the pre-hospital arena, we see medications given as if the person were young and with good kidneys and liver," says Joan Somes, PhD, MSN, RN, CEN, FAEN, ED educator at St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul, MN. "One of the issues I have dealt with frequently of late, is fentanyl given for pain."
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"Textbook" side effects will be more pronounced in the older adult, says Joan Somes, PhD, MSN, RN, CEN, FAEN, ED educator at St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul, MN. Here, she gives several to watch for:
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A child's race and ethnicity is irrelevant when it comes to treatment of pediatric psychiatric patients, correct? Not necessarily, according to a new study, which found that minority children are more likely to receive severe mental health disorder diagnoses in the ED than white children.
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A child who was involuntarily committed managed to walk out of the ED at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, FL, right past a security guard and out the main hospital doors.
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The middle-aged man on medication for erectile dysfunction who is given beta-blockers for chest pain. The diabetic patient on glucophage who gets a CT scan with contrast.
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Here are assessment tips to use at triage if you suspect that your patient might have deep venous thrombosis (DVT):