Objectives: Long bone fractures (LBFs) are among the most frequent traumatic injuries seen in emergency departments. Reduction and immobilization is the most common form of treatment for displaced fractures. Point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) is a promising technique for diagnosing LBFs and assessing the success of reduction attempts. This article offers a comprehensive review of the use of PoCUS for the diagnosis and reduction of LBFs. Data source: MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched through July 19, 2015. Study selection: We included prospective studies that assessed test characteristics of PoCUS in 1) the diagnosis or 2) the reduction of LBFs. The methodological quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2) tool. Data extraction: Thirty studies met inclusion criteria (n = 3,506; overall fracture rate 48.0%). Test characteristics of PoCUS for the diagnosis of LBFs were as follows: sensitivity 64.7%-100%, specificity 79.2%-100%, positive likelihood ratio (LR) 3.11-infinity, and negative LR zero-0.45. Sensitivity and specificity for the adequate reduction of LBFs with PoCUS were 94%-100% and 56%-100%, respectively. PoCUS diagnosis of pediatric forearm fractures in 10 studies showed a pooled sensitivity of 93.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 87.2%-96.4%) and specificity of 92.9% (95% CI, 86.6%-96.4%), and PoCUS diagnosis of adult ankle fractures in four studies showed a pooled sensitivity of 89.5% (95% CI, 77.0%-95.6%) and specificity of 94.2% (95% CI, 86.1%-97.7%). Conclusion: PoCUS demonstrates good diagnostic accuracy in all LBFs studied, especially in pooled results of diagnosis of pediatric forearm and adult ankle fractures. PoCUS is an appropriate adjunct to plain radiographs for LBFs. RÉSUMÉObjectifs: Les fractures des os longs (FOL) figurent parmi les blessures traumatiques les plus fréquentes au service des urgences, et les traitements les plus courants des fractures avec déplacement consistent en la réduction et l'immobilisation du membre touché. L'échographie au point de service (EPS) est une technique prometteuse dans le diagnostic des FOL et dans l'évaluation de la réussite des tentatives de réduction. Aussi les auteurs ont-ils procédé à un examen exhaustif de la documentation médicale sur l'utilisation de l'EPS dans le diagnostic et la réduction des FOL, et ils font état des résultats dans le présent article. Source de données: Des recherches ont été effectuées dans les bases de données MEDLINE et EMBASE jusqu'au 19 juillet 2015 inclusivement. Sélection des etudes: Ont été retenues des études prospectives visant à évaluer les caractéristiques de fonctionnement de l'EPS au regard 1) du diagnostic ou 2) de la réduction des FOL. La qualité méthodologique des études sélectionnées a été évaluée l'aide de l'outil Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2). Extraction des données: Trente études respectaient les critères de sélection (n = 3506; taux général de fracture : 48,0 %). Les caractéristiques de fo...

CLINICIAN'S CAPSULE What is known about the topic? Goals of care discussions (GOC) are critical to reflecting patients' preferences in the provision of acute care, yet these discussions can be challenging to have in the emergency department (ED) setting. What did this study ask? What are emergency physicians' perspectives on barriers and facilitators to GOC discussions? What did this study find? In this survey of emergency medicine attending and resident physicians, the majority reported feeling comfortable and adequately trained to conduct GOC discussions. However, they identified time constraints, environmental factors, and patient expectations as barriers. Fifty-four percent of respondents believed that it was primarily the responsibility of admitting services to conduct GOC discussions. Why does this study matter to clinicians? This study suggests that dedicated ED resources for palliative care, such as a palliative care ED pathway, and addressing structural factors, such as a way to dedicate time and private space to GOC discussions, would be promising avenues for improvement. Training did not appear to be a barrier.

ObjectivesQuality and safety of emergency care is critical. Patients rely on emergency medicine (EM) for accessible, timely and high-quality care in addition to providing a ‘safety-net’ function. Demand is increasing, creating resource challenges in all settings. Where EM is well established, this is recognised through the implementation of quality standards and staff training for patient safety. In settings where EM is developing, immense system and patient pressures exist, thereby necessitating the availability of tiered standards appropriate to the local context.MethodsThe original quality framework arose from expert consensus at the International Federation of Emergency Medicine (IFEM) Symposium for Quality and Safety in Emergency Care (UK, 2011). The IFEM Quality and Safety Special Interest Group members have subsequently refined it to achieve a consensus in 2018.ResultsPatients should expect EDs to provide effective acute care. To do this, trained emergency personnel should make patient-centred, timely and expert decisions to provide care, supported by systems, processes, diagnostics, appropriate equipment and facilities. Enablers to high-quality care include appropriate staff, access to care (including financial), coordinated emergency care through the whole patient journey and monitoring of outcomes. Crowding directly impacts on patient quality of care, morbidity and mortality. Quality indicators should be pragmatic, measurable and prioritised as components of an improvement strategy which should be developed, tailored and implemented in each setting.ConclusionEDs globally have a remit to deliver the best care possible. IFEM has defined and updated an international consensus framework for quality and safety.

Patients were very satisfied with colonoscopy. The majority were willing to return for repeat testing under the same conditions, and colonoscopy was not preferred over other modalities. However, studies were limited by methodological shortcomings.

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In response to coronavirus disease 2019 , a rapid-cycle in-situ simulation (ISS) programme was developed to facilitate identification and resolution of systems-based latent safety threats. The simulation involved a possible COVID-19 case in respiratory failure, using a mannequin modified to aerosolize phosphorescent secretions. Thirty-six individuals participated in five ISS sessions over 6 weeks, and a further 20 individuals observed these sessions. Debriefing identified latent safety threats from four domains: personnel, personal protective equipment, supply/environment and communication. These threats were addressed and resolved in later iterations. Ninety-four percent of participants felt more prepared to care for a potential case of COVID-19 after the ISS.

Over the last decade, patient volumes in the emergency department (ED) have grown disproportionately compared to the increase in staffing and resources at the Toronto Western Hospital, an academic tertiary care centre in Toronto, Canada. The resultant congestion has spilled over to the ED waiting room, where medically undifferentiated and potentially unstable patients must wait until a bed becomes available. The aim of this quality improvement project was to decrease the 90th percentile of wait time between triage and bed assignment (time-to-bed) by half, from 120 to 60 minutes, for our highest acuity patients. We engaged key stakeholders to identify barriers and potential strategies to achieve optimal flow of patients into the ED. We first identified multiple flow-interrupting challenges, including operational bottlenecks and cultural issues. We then generated change ideas to address two main underlying causes of ED congestion: unnecessary patient utilization of ED beds and communication breakdown causing bed turnaround delays. We subsequently performed seven tests of change through sequential plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles. The most significant gains were made by improving communication strategies: small gains were achieved through the optimization of in-house digital information management systems, while significant improvements were achieved through the implementation of a low-tech direct contact mechanism (a two-way radio or walkie-talkie). In the post-intervention phase, time-to-bed for the 90th percentile of high-acuity patients decreased from 120 minutes to 66 minutes, with special cause variation showing a significant shift in the weekly measurements.

The CWC recommendations for emergency medicine were selected using a mixed methods approach. This top 5 list was released at the CAEP Conference in June 2015 and should form the basis for future implementation efforts.