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Race, Ethnicity Data Are Important for QI but Sometimes May Be Incorrect

Many EDs have been collecting race and ethnicity data for quality improvement purposes for decades. Rama A. Salhi, MD, MHS, MSc, an assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and colleagues set out to learn more about the accuracy of the data being documented by EDs.

ED Nurses Would Not Recommend Their Workplace Because of Safety, Staffing Concerns

Emergency nurses are much more likely to report high burnout, job dissatisfaction, and intent to leave compared to inpatient nurses, according to a recent analysis of nurses practicing in 60 U.S. hospitals.

Gender Affects EPs’ Decision-Making on Restraint Use

Gender affects the way emergency physicians (EPs) approach decision-making for management of agitated patients, according to a recent qualitative study.

EDs Are Seeking to Minimize Restraint Use

At Hennepin County Medical Center’s ED, quality improvement and quality assurance have been a long-term focus. “There was an interest, particularly in the wake of the local and national events of the summer of 2020, to reexamine our restraint practices and look for opportunities to minimize coercive care in our ED,” reports Aaron E. Robinson, MD, MPH, a faculty physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center and assistant medical director at Hennepin Emergency Medical Services.

An Alternative Model for ECPR: Keeping the Pool of Physicians Skilled in the Procedure Small

Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or ECPR, is relatively new to UF Health’s Shands Hospital in Gainesville, FL. Interestingly, unlike the model for ECPR being deployed by hospitals in San Diego, where dozens of emergency physicians are being trained in the technique, developers of the ECPR program at UF Health have decided that it is important to restrict the number of emergency physicians who perform ECPR.

San Diego County EPs Making Sure Life-Saving Technique Is Available to Cardiac Arrest Patients

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that every year more than 365,000 people in the United States will experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. However, even in cases where quick-thinking bystanders skillfully administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation before paramedics arrive to take over, the odds of surviving a cardiac arrest are bleak. But what if there was a way to improve the odds of survival in such cases?

Delayed CT? ED Documentation Can Increase, or Mitigate, Risk

When CT scan delays occur, ED providers sometimes want to document in the chart all the factors beyond their control. “But trying to call out delays in the chart puts up a flag,” warns Bryan Baskin, DO, FACEP, vice chair of safety and quality at the Cleveland Clinic’s Department of Emergency Medicine and an assistant professor at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. Documenting objectively, such as stating, “The CT scanner was down for two hours,” is probably appropriate, he says.

Root Causes of Significantly Delayed CT Scans in ED Settings

EDs often experience delays obtaining computed tomography scans, with some patients waiting multiple hours for the test. This situation causes bottlenecks in patient flow, increasing length of stay and overall ED crowding.

Avian Flu Rears Its Beak Again in the United States

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued an alert after a human infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus in the United States following exposure to presumed infected dairy cattle. No human-to-human transmission of HPAI A(H5N1) virus has been identified.

High-Mortality Cryptococcosis Infection After COVID-19

A survey initiated by the Mycoses Study Group identified 69 cases of cryptococcosis following COVID-19 infection. The mortality rate was 59%, with cases in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent individuals.