Burn disaster-management planning: a preparedness tool kit.

It is vital that preburn center emergency providers have the knowledge and equipment needed to treat burn-injured patients should there be an extended delay in transporting the patients to a burn center as may be the case during a mass-casualty incident or weather-related emergency. Since 2007 a collaborative effort has been underway to build an emergency-response tool kit that provides to and draws from local, state, and federal resources. This tool kit is designed to fill knowledge deficits regarding burn treatment as well as address gaps in stockpiled treatment materials.

Validation of a triage algorithm for psychiatric screening (TAPS) for patients with psychiatric chief complaints.

Context: The process of medical clearance screening for patients with psychiatric chief complaints has not been standardized.

Objective: To investigate the validity of a triage algorithm for psychiatric screening (TAPS) as a method to screen for the absence of acute medical illness in these patients.

Methods: The current study was a structured, retrospective medical record review in a suburban community teaching hospital with 37,000 emergency department visits per year.