A comparative study of patient characteristics, opinions, and outcomes, for patients who leave the emergency department before medical assessment.

Objective: The emergency department (ED) left-without-being-seen (LWBS) rate is a performance indicator, although there is limited knowledge about why people leave, or whether they seek alternate care. We studied characteristics of ED LWBS patients to determine factors associated with LWBS.

Methods: We collected demographic data on LWBS patients at two urban hospitals.

Haemodynamic stability is maintained during extended daily diafiltration in critically ill septic patients.

Background: Extended daily diafiltration (EDDf) is a prolonged intermittent dialysis technique introduced as an alternative to continuous renal replacement therapy in critically ill patients. Although EDDf has the advantages of ease of use, low cost and patient tolerability, there is concern that the high blood and dialysate flow rates used with EDDf may precipitate haemodynamic instability.

Objective: To identify whether haemodynamic changes occur during the course of EDDf therapy in adult patients who are admitted to the intensive care unit with sepsis and require dialysis.

Emergency care workload units: a novel tool to compare emergency department activity.

Introduction: Funding bodies have traditionally used attendance figures as a way of determining the allocation of funding for resources in the EDs. Using attendance figures only might not accurately reflect the funding and resources required. The need to create an easily implemented tool to compare workload and resources required was identified.