Objectives: To determine the effect of introducing a rapid enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) D-dimer on the percentage of emergency department (ED) patients evaluated for pulmonary embolism (PE), the use of associated laboratory testing, pulmonary vascular imaging, and the diagnoses of PE. Methods: Patients evaluated for PE during three 120-day periods were enrolled: immediately before (period 1), immediately after (period 2), and one year after the introduction of a rapid ELISA D-dimer in the hospital. The frequency of ED patients evaluated for PE with any test, with D-dimer testing, and with pulmonary vascular imaging and the frequency of PE diagnosis during each time period were determined. Results: The percentage of patients evaluated for PE nearly doubled; from 1.36% (328/24,101) in period 1 to 2.58% (654/25,318) in period 2 and 2.42% (583/24,093) in period 3. The percentage of patients who underwent D-dimer testing increased more than fourfold; from 0.39% (93/24,101) in period 1 to 1.83% (464/25,318) in period 2 and 1.77% (427/24,093) in period 3. The percentage of patients who underwent pulmonary vascular imaging increased from 1.02% (247/24,101) in period 1 to 1.36% (344/25,318) in period 2 and to 1.39% (334/24,093) in period 3. There was no difference in the percentage of patients diagnosed as having PE in period 1 (0.20% [47/24,101]), period 2 (0.27% [69/25,318]), and period 3 (0.24% [58/24,093]). Conclusions: In the study's academic ED, introduction of ELISA D-dimer testing was accompanied by an increase in PE evaluations, D-dimer testing, and pulmonary vascular imaging; there was no observed change in the rate of PE diagnosis.
SummaryIn areas with limited access to critical care services, the intensivist's reach can be expanded by removing the silo of the ICU and providing care wherever the patient is located. The University of Vermont Health Network includes a tertiary care center, two community hospitals, and three critical access hospitals, and often experiences limited ICU bed availability. The community hospitals have ICU services; however, only the tertiary site has consistent staffing for many subspeciality services. For example, the University of Vermont Medical Center is the only Vermont hospital to offer inpatient dialysis services or continuous electroencephalogram. The tertiary center ICU beds can be occupied by patients with brief ICU needs, but who remain in the ICU due to constraints in system throughput. The critical care transition (CCT) service was created in October 2022 to provide critical care consults for patients outside of the ICU. CCT serves the tertiary care ED and hospital wards, and provides peer-to-peer support for emergency physicians at the rural network EDs via telehealth. Dual-boarded emergency medicine/critical care medicine (EM/CCM) physicians provide the consults and offer procedural assistance within the tertiary care site. By increasing this access to critical care consults — independent of patient location — the long-term goals are to reduce short (<24-hour) ICU admissions, reduce the rates of transfer declines to the ICU due to capacity, decrease the time to evaluation by the intensivist for critically ill patients, and improve patient-centered measures of quality, such as inter-facility transfers and mortality. Short-term measures of success included demonstration of value and sustainability through either cost avoidance or revenue generation, favorable staff satisfaction evaluated via surveys, and successful deployment of telehealth to support rural network providers. The authors present the pilot phase of this care delivery model in a rural setting. Work is ongoing to expand and improve the ways in which critical care can be effectively delivered where and when needed. The initial 9 months of coverage, through August 2023, suggest improved access to ICU care, mitigation of avoidable high-cost services, and positive feedback from staff in the management of complex patients. The service, which started with just two EM/CCM physicians (limited, sporadic shifts, 60% full-time equivalent [FTE]) was approved in April 2023 for full-time staffing of one shift per day (2.3 FTEs) with a goal to continue data collection for evaluation of long-term objectives, continued rapid cycle improvement testing to increase patient volumes, and expanded use of telehealth opportunities throughout the network. This model of a peri-ICU consult service, focused on critical care anywhere, utilized the same physicians to concurrently support patients and providers outside of an ICU in multiple health care settings. The health system has demonstrated the feasibility of implementing a creative solution to complex health care delivery challenges.
Researchers have found an inverse relationship between immigrant status and violence perpetration. Most studies have examined Mexican immigrants, and few have assessed immigration factors other than nativity. Additionally, the majority have focused on the most serious forms of violence despite the fact that moderate violence is more common. Using data from the 2008 Boston Youth Survey, we generated prevalence estimates of peer violence perpetration across immigration related factors, examined whether risk factors for peer violence differed by these variables, and explored the contribution of risk factors to peer violence perpetration. Recent immigrants had a significantly lower prevalence of peer violence compared to each other generations/time in U.S. group. Known risk factors for violence perpetration varied by generation/time in U.S.: compared to other groups, recent immigrants were less likely to have used substances, and were more likely earn A’s and B’s in school. Recent immigrants had a significantly lower risk of violence perpetration relative to U.S.-born (RR = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.19, 0.62). Adjusting for known risk factors did not attenuate differences in risk. While immigrant youth had a lower risk of peer violence, the protective effect was diminished among immigrants who had resided in the U.S. for >4 years. This pattern demonstrates that negative assimilation occurs within the first generation, not just across generations. Results suggest that perpetration of violence worsens with increased time in the U.S. Research is needed to identify factors that contribute to the acquisition of behaviors such as violence among recently arrived immigrant youth.
To determine the effect of introducing a rapid enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) D-dimer on the percentage of emergency department (ED) patients evaluated for pulmonary embolism (PE), the use of associated laboratory testing, pulmonary vascular imaging, and the diagnoses of PE.Patients evaluated for PE during three 120-day periods were enrolled: immediately before (period 1), immediately after (period 2), and one year after the introduction of a rapid ELISA D-dimer in the hospital. The frequency of ED patients evaluated for PE with any test, with D-dimer testing, and with pulmonary vascular imaging and the frequency of PE diagnosis during each time period were determined.The percentage of patients evaluated for PE nearly doubled; from 1.36% (328/24,101) in period 1 to 2.58% (654/25,318) in period 2 and 2.42% (583/24,093) in period 3. The percentage of patients who underwent D-dimer testing increased more than fourfold; from 0.39% (93/24,101) in period 1 to 1.83% (464/25,318) in period 2 and 1.77% (427/24,093) in period 3. The percentage of patients who underwent pulmonary vascular imaging increased from 1.02% (247/24,101) in period 1 to 1.36% (344/25,318) in period 2 and to 1.39% (334/24,093) in period 3. There was no difference in the percentage of patients diagnosed as having PE in period 1 (0.20% [47/24,101]), period 2 (0.27% [69/25,318]), and period 3 (0.24% [58/24,093]).In the study's academic ED, introduction of ELISA D-dimer testing was accompanied by an increase in PE evaluations, D-dimer testing, and pulmonary vascular imaging; there was no observed change in the rate of PE diagnosis.
The enormous shortage of health workers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is a major contributor to the unacceptably high rates of morbidity and mortality in the region. This is especially true for patients whose illnesses and injuries require time-sensitive interventions. To address the crisis, a number of countries have utilized “task-shifting” in various health disciplines where they call upon other cadres, often nurses, to assume new roles and responsibilities that are not traditionally within their scope of practice. This practice has been shown to increase access, to be cost-effective and of high-quality. A literature review was undertaken to better understand the implications of task-shifting on emergency medical care in Africa. This review demonstrates that, while task-shifting has been used effectively for specific emergency procedures in specialty fields such as obstetrics and surgery, to date there are no studies on the use of task-shifting to treat the acute, undifferentiated patient in SSA. Task shifting is a potential solution to help address the very limited access to emergency care across SSA, but requires further study to ensure effective implementation. L’importante pénurie de travailleurs de la santé en Afrique sub-saharienne contribue de façon importante aux taux inacceptablement élevés de morbidité et de mortalité dans la région. Cela est surtout le cas pour les patients souffrant de maladies qui nécessitent des interventions urgentes. Pour remédier à la crise, un certain nombre de pays utilisent le “transfert des tâches“ dans diverses disciplines de santé où il est fait appel à d’autres employés, souvent des infirmiers (ières), pour assurer de nouveaux rôles et responsabilités qui ne font pas partie traditionnellement de leur domaine d’activités. Cette pratique s’est révélée accroître l’accès, être d’un bon rapport coût-efficacité et d’une grande qualité. Une analyse documentaire a été menée afin de mieux comprendre les conséquences du transfert de tâches sur les soins médicaux d’urgence en Afrique. Alors que cette analyse montre que le transfert de tâches a été utilisé de manière efficace pour des procédures d’urgence spécifiques dans des domaines spécilalisés tels que l’obstétrique et la chirurgie, à ce jour il n’existe aucune étude sur l’utilisation du transfert de tâches afin de traiter des patients en soins de courte durée, aux symptômes indifférenciés en Afrique sub-saharienne. Le transfert de tâches est une solution possible afin d’aider à remédier à l’accès très limité aux soins d’urgence en Afrique sub-saharienne, mais nécessite une étude plus approfondie pour garantir une mise en œuvre efficace.
The crisis in human resources for global health is negatively impacting maternal health. In particular, access to emergency obstetric care is vital to prevent maternal deaths. In response to a severe shortage of physicians, various non-physician clinicians (NPCs), including midwives, perform caesarean sections in under-resourced environments. We reviewed the literature on the practice of any cadre of NPCs performing caesarean sections. The very limited literature on this topic finds that caesarean sections performed by NPCs and physicians appear to result in similar clinical outcomes. NPCs perform caesarean sections successfully and are more likely to stay in district hospitals than physicians. NPCs, including midwives, equipped with caesarean section skills may represent an extraordinary opportunity for solving a critical and unmet gap in the global maternal health crisis.
ABSTRACT On January 12, 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurred approximately 10 miles west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and created one of the worst humanitarian disasters in history. The purpose of this report is to describe the types of illness experienced by people living in tent camps around the city in the immediate aftermath of this event. The data were collected by a team of medical personnel working with an international nongovernmental organization and operating in the tent camps surrounding the city from day 15 to day 18 following the earthquake. In agreement with the existing literature describing patterns of illness in refugee and internally displaced populations, the authors note a preponderance of pediatric illness, with 53% of cases being patients younger than 20 years old and 25% younger than 5 years old. The most common complaints noted by category were respiratory (24.6%), gastrointestinal (16.9%), and genitourinary (10.9%). Another important feature of illness among this population was the observed high incidence of malnutrition among pediatric patients. This report should serve as a guide for future medical interventions in refugee and internally displaced people situations and reinforces the need for strong nutritional support programs in disaster relief operations of this kind. ( Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness . 2010;4:116-121)
The crisis in human resources for global health is negatively impacting maternal health. In particular, access to emergency obstetric care is vital to prevent maternal deaths. In response to a severe shortage of physicians, various non-physician clinicians (NPCs), including midwives, perform caesarean sections in under-resourced environments. We reviewed the literature on the practice of any cadre of NPCs performing caesarean sections. The very limited literature on this topic finds that caesarean sections performed by NPCs and physicians appear to result in similar clinical outcomes. NPCs perform caesarean sections successfully and are more likely to stay in district hospitals than physicians. NPCs, including midwives, equipped with caesarean section skills may represent an extraordinary opportunity for solving a critical and unmet gap in the global maternal health crisis.
