Emergency department tobacco cessation program: staff participation and intervention success among patients.

Context: The emergency department (ED) is often the primary source of healthcare for uninsured and underinsured patients.

Objectives: To evaluate ED staff attitudes toward and participation in referring patients to a tobacco cessation program, and to assess the program's effectiveness.

Methods: A nonvalidated survey on smoking cessation and preventative services for ED patients was mailed to ED staff at a suburban hospital.

Is early analgesia associated with delayed treatment of appendicitis?

Purpose: We sought to investigate the relationship between delay in treatment of appendicitis and early use of analgesia.

Basic Procedures: We designed a matched case-control study, with patients having delayed treatment of appendicitis as the cases and patients with no delay in treatment of appendicitis as controls matched for age, sex, Alvarado score, and date of diagnosis. Of 957 patients with appendicitis, there were 103 delayed cases.

Appendicitis outcomes with increasing computed tomographic scanning.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine appendicitis outcomes over time as computed tomographic (CT) scanning was incorporated into practice.

Basic Procedures: Using chart review, appendectomy cases from 1998 to 2004 were analyzed by year for CT scanning rate, delay in treatment, complications, negative appendectomies, and time to surgery. Delay in treatment was defined as discharge from the ED at first visit or more than 20 hours from examination until surgery.