Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the accuracy of telephone triage of callers with shortness of breath and/or chest discomfort in Dutch out-of-hours primary care: A retrospective observational study.

Background: Anecdotal reports suggest that missed diagnosis in general practice during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a drop in life-threatening events (LTEs) detected in hospitals.

Objectives: To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the accuracy of urgency allocation by telephone triage of patients with shortness of breath and/or chest discomfort in out-of-hours primary care (OHS-PC). Accuracy is defined as the correct allocation of high urgency to patients with LTEs and low urgency to those without.

Accuracy of urgency allocation in patients with shortness of breath calling out-of-hours primary care: a cross-sectional study.

Background: In out-of-hours primary care (OHS-PC), semi-automatic decision support tools are often used during telephone triage. In the Netherlands, the Netherlands Triage Standard (NTS) is used. The NTS is mainly expert-based and evidence on the diagnostic accuracy of the NTS' urgency allocation against clinically relevant outcomes for patients calling with shortness of breath (SOB) is lacking.

[Acute abdominal pain caused by neuroborreliosis].

Background: Lyme disease is a multisystem disease which can present itself in several ways. When the nervous system is involved, it is called Lyme neuroborreliosis. Both central and peripheral nervous systems can be affected.

Titration of oxygen therapy in critically ill emergency department patients: a feasibility study.

Background: Liberal use of oxygen in an emergency situation is common. Today, most health care professionals do not adjust the amount of oxygen given when a saturation of 100% or a PaO2 which exceeds the normal range is reached- which may result in hyperoxia. There is increasing evidence for the toxic effects of hyperoxia.