Patellar dislocations are a common injury in the emergency department. The conservative management consists of immobilisation with a cylinder cast, posterior splint or removable knee brace. No consensus seems to exist on the most appropriate means of conservative treatment or the duration of immobilisation. Therefore the aims of this review were first to examine whether immobilisation with a cylinder cast causes less redislocation and joint movement restriction than a knee brace or posterior splint and second to compare the redislocation rates after conservative treatment with surgical treatment. A systematic search of Pubmed, Embase and the Cochrane Library was performed. We identified 470 articles. After applying the exclusion and inclusion criteria, only one relevant study comparing conservative treatment with a cylinder cast, brace and posterior splint remained (Mäenpää et al.). In this study, the redislocation frequency per follow-up year was significant higher in the brace group (0.29; p < 0.05) than in the cylinder cast group (0.12) and the posterior splint group (0.08). The proportion of loss of flexion and extension was the highest in the cylinder cast group and the lowest in the posterior splint group (not significant). The evidence level remained low because of the small study population, difference in duration of immobilisation between groups and use of old braces. Also, 12 studies comparing surgical with conservative treatment were assessed. Only one study reported significantly different redislocation rates after surgical treatment. In conclusion, a posterior splint might be the best therapeutic option because of the low redislocation rates and knee joint restrictions. However, this recommendation is based on only one study with significant limitations. Further investigation with modern braces and standardisation of immobilisation time is needed to find the most appropriate conservative treatment for patellar luxation. Furthermore, there is insufficient evidence to confirm the added value of surgical management.

No abstract

BackgroundAppropriate interpretation of vital signs is essential for risk stratification in the emergency department (ED) but may change with advancing age. In several guidelines, risk scores such as the Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) and Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) scores, commonly used in emergency medicine practice (as well as critical care) specify a single cut-off or threshold for each of the commonly measured vital signs. Although a single cut-off may be convenient, it is unknown whether a single cut-off for vital signs truly exists and if the association between vital signs and in-hospital mortality differs per age-category.AimsTo assess the association between initial vital signs and case-mix adjusted in-hospital mortality in different age categories.MethodsObservational multicentre cohort study using the Netherlands Emergency Department Evaluation Database (NEED) in which consecutive ED patients ≥18 years were included between 1 January 2017 and 12 January 2020. The association between vital signs and case-mix adjusted mortality were assessed in three age categories (18-65; 66-80; >80 years) using multivariable logistic regression. Vital signs were each divided into five to six categories, for example, systolic blood pressure (SBP) categories (≤80, 81–100, 101–120, 121–140, >140 mm Hg).ResultsWe included 101 416 patients of whom 2374 (2.3%) died. Adjusted ORs for mortality increased gradually with decreasing SBP and decreasing peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2). Diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) had quasi-U-shaped associations with mortality. Mortality did not increase for temperatures anywhere in the range between 35.5°C and 42.0°C, with a single cut-off around 35.5°C below which mortality increased. Single cut-offs were also found for MAP <70 mm Hg and respiratory rate >22/min. For all vital signs, older patients had larger increases in absolute mortality compared with younger patients.ConclusionFor SBP, DBP, SpO2 and HR, no single cut-off existed. The impact of changing vital sign categories on prognosis was larger in older patients. Our results have implications for the interpretation of vital signs in existing risk stratification tools and acute care guidelines.

No abstract

Background and importance Although aging societies in Western Europe use presenting complaints (PCs) in emergency departments (EDs) triage systems to determine the urgency and severity of the care demand, it is unclear whether their prognostic value is age-dependent.Objective To assess the frequency and association of PCs with hospitalization and mortality across age categories.Methods An observational multicenter study using all consecutive visits of three EDs in the Netherlands Emergency department Evaluation Database. Patients were stratified by age category (0-18; 19-50; 51-65; 66-80; >80 years), in which the association between PCs and case-mix adjusted hospitalization and mortality was studied using multivariable logistic regression analysis (adjusting for demographics, hospital, disease severity, comorbidity and other PCs) ResultsWe included 172 104 ED-visits. The most frequent PCs were 'extremity problems' [range across age categories (13.5-40.8%)], 'feeling unwell' (9.5-23.4%), 'abdominal pain' (6.0-13.9%), 'dyspnea' (4.5-13.3%) and 'chest pain' (0.6-10.7%). For most PCs, the observed and the case-mix-adjusted odds for hospitalization and mortality increased the higher the age category. The most common PCs with the highest adjusted odds ratios (AORs, 95% CI) for hospitalization were 'diarrhea and vomiting ' [2.30 (2.02-2.62)] and 'feeling unwell ' [1.60 (1.48-1.73)]. Low hospitalization risk was found for 'chest pain ' [0.58 (0.53-0.63)] and 'palpitations' [0.64 (0.58-0.71)]. Conclusions Frequency of PCs in ED patients varies with age, but the same PCs occur in all age categories. For most PCs, (case-mix adjusted) hospitalization and mortality vary across age categories. 'Chest pain' and 'palpitations, ' usually triaged 'very urgent', carry a low risk for hospitalization and mortality.