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How many patients would you estimate come to your ED for alcohol-related diseases and injuries? According to a new report, the number may be much higher than you think. There are three times as many alcohol-related ED visits than previous estimates, with an estimated 68.6 million ED visits attributed to alcohol each year, says a study based on the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys data from 1992-2000.
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An infant with pneumonia, a girl with an infected tattoo, and a child with an insect bite. Would you suspect community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) in all these patients? In fact, these are all recent examples of actual MRSA cases seen at Brandon (FL) Regional Hospitals ED.
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Many of the tourniquets that come in prepackaged intravenous (IV) start kits are not adequate for difficult-start patients, says Linell Jones, RN, BSN, CEN, ED nurse at Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, WA.
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Are dirty meal trays a common sight in your ED? By switching to a disposable tray system, the ED at Paradise Valley Hospital in National City, CA, was able to save $300 a month, reports Stephanie J. Baker, RN, BSN, CEN, MBA/HCM, director of emergency services.
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If an unconscious man was rushed to your ED after a terrorist attack with possible exposure to biological or chemical agents, would you know exactly how to decontaminate and treat this patient? What if your patient was a 3-year-old?
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If you could find a way to ensure that medications were absorbed quicker with less pain and no risk of a needlestick injury, would you do this for your patients? Intranasal drug delivery offers all of these benefits, but the vast majority of EDs dont use it, according to Timothy Wolfe, MD, associate professor of emergency medicine at University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City.
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The strength of a clinicians recommendation for patient care is greatest in data generated through carefully conducted experimental studies. In many cases, this quality of data is generated from randomized clinical trials where a novel intervention is compared against some standard of care. When properly designed and conducted, positive or negative results will generally provide convincing evidence to support a change in that standard or refute one, particularly if the outcomes are independently confirmed.
