Editor's Note In this study, survival rates for geriatric patients were significantly improved when emergency general surgery procedures were performed at hospitals with higher operative volumes. Of 41,860 surgical procedures evaluated at 200 hospitals, mortality decreased as hospital emergency operative volume increased. For every standardized increase in volume, reduction in…

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Editor's Note The increased use of tourniquets, blood transfusions, and reduced time to surgical treatment (ie, within 1 hour) were the main factors that reduced mortality 44.2% during military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, this study finds. From October 2001 through December 2017, survival increase three-fold among the most critically…

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Editor's Note Hospitals should consider adopting a care bundle approach to improve outcomes for emergency laparotomy patients, this study finds. In this analysis of 14,809 patients in 28 hospitals in the UK, reduction in unadjusted mortality (from 9.8% to 8.3%) and length of stay (from 20.1 days to 18.9 days)…

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Editor's Note The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) on February 26 announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a Memorandum Summary with updates to Appendix Z of the State Operations Manual, which outlines the Emergency Preparedness requirements for CMS providers and suppliers. The primary change that affects…

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There are few things more disheartening for patients than having to board in the emergency department (ED) for long periods while waiting for a bed. ED boarding can also delay treatment and adds to overcrowding and backups. Erlanger Health System, based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, decided to tackle this problem head…

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Editor's Note States with poor access to trauma centers have more deaths before injured patients arrive at the hospital than states with better access, finds this study presented October 22 at the American College of Surgeons 2018 Clinical Congress in Boston. Overall, the largest percentage of trauma deaths occurred before…

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On Monday, July 23, a trailer blew a tire at the intersection of Highway 299 and Carr Powerhouse Road in the Whiskeytown district of Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area in Northern California. As the driver tried to stop, the wheel’s rim scraped against the asphalt and threw some sparks into very…

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Editor's Note Use of a standardized, electronic nursing handoff communication process resulted in decreased boarding time in the emergency department (ED) and increased bed flow efficiency, this study finds. Before implementation of the electronic nursing handoff process, the average ready to move-to-occupied time was 83.6 minutes. This decreased to 49…

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Editor's Note Naloxone administration by emergency medical services increased 75.1% between 2012 and 2016, mirroring a 79.7% increase in fatal opioid overdoes during the same time period, according to the August 10 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Young adults made…

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Editor's Note Patients assessed in hospital-based emergency departments (EDs) were 20% more likely to be admitted than patients at freestanding EDs, this study finds. Data for the 3,230 patient study, were collected from 2015 Cleveland Clinic statistics of its tertiary hospital-based ED and two of its freestanding EDs. Of 1,708…

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