The European Society of Cardiology issued updated syncope guidelines in 2018 which included recommendations for managing syncope in the emergency department (ED) setting. However, these guidelines lack detailed process-oriented instructions regarding the fact that ED syncope patients initially present with a transient loss of consciousness (TLOC), which can have a broad spectrum of causes. This study aims to establish a European consensus on the general process of the workup and care for patients with suspected syncope and provides rules for sufficient and systematic management of the broad group of syncope (initially presenting as TLOC) patients in the ED.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Importance: In 2018, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) produced syncope guidelines that for the first-time incorporated Emergency Department (ED) management. However, very little is known about the characteristics and management of this patient group across Europe.
Objectives: To examine the prevalence, clinical presentation, assessment, investigation (ECG and laboratory testing), management and ESC and Canadian Syncope Risk Score (CSRS) categories of adult European ED patients presenting with transient loss of consciousness (TLOC, undifferentiated or suspected syncope).
Objectives: Clinical decision-making in emergency medicine is under constant pressure from demand and performance requirements, with blood tests being a fundamental part of this. However, the preanalytical process has received little attention. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the quality of preanalytical phase processes in European emergency departments (EDs) from the perspectives of the three main providers: clinicians, nurses, and laboratory specialists.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Burnout is a common problem among healthcare professionals (HCPs), in particular young doctors and nurses working in emergency medical services. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has generated a substantial increase in the workload of those working in front-line services, and there is evidence of physical and mental distress among professionals that may have caused an increase in burnout.
Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the level of burnout in the different professionals of emergency medical services.
This paper presents the early outcomes of the educational cooperation between two European academic associations, namely the European Federation of Medical Informatics (EFMI) and European Society of Emergency Medicine (EUSEM). Two webinars were organized in December 2019 and June 2020 to explore areas where mutual education would be beneficial for interdisciplinary cooperation to advance the digitization of emergency departments for the benefit of patients, health professionals and the health system as a whole. Preliminary findings from the analysis of these two webinars are presented and the steps for further cooperation are outlined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The revised World Health Organization's International Health Regulations (2005) request a timely and all-hazard approach towards surveillance, especially at the subnational level. We discuss three questions of syndromic surveillance application in the European context for assessing public health emergencies of international concern: (i) can syndromic surveillance support countries, especially the subnational level, to meet the International Health Regulations (2005) core surveillance capacity requirements, (ii) are European syndromic surveillance systems comparable to enable cross-border surveillance, and (iii) at which administrative level should syndromic surveillance best be applied?
Discussion: Despite the ongoing criticism on the usefulness of syndromic surveillance which is related to its clinically nonspecific output, we demonstrate that it was a suitable supplement for timely assessment of the impact of three different public health emergencies affecting Europe. Subnational syndromic surveillance analysis in some cases proved to be of advantage for detecting an event earlier compared to national level analysis.
Objectives: To determine the applicability of the Wells clinical prediction criteria for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in patients in hospital emergency departments and to evaluate the relevance of the score's components.
Material And Methods: Prospective multicenter cohort study in consecutive hospital emergency department patients suspected of having DVT. Full-leg Doppler compression ultrasound imaging was performed on all patients.
The scope of the International Health Regulations of 2005 (IHR (2005)) has been expanded. The IHR (2005) are no longer limited to a specific set of infectious diseases, instead they prescribe detection and assessment of any event of potential public health concern regardless of its source or origin. We examine events of non-infectious origin that might fulfill the criteria of a potential public health emergency of international concern under the IHR (2005).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Public Health
October 2013
Background: Emergency medical service (EMS) data, particularly from the emergency department (ED), is a common source of information for syndromic surveillance. However, the entire EMS chain, consists of both out-of-hospital and in-hospital services. Differences in validity and timeliness across these data sources so far have not been studied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: The aim of this prospective study was the comparison of four emergency medical service (EMS) systems-emergency physician (EP) and paramedic (PM) based-and the impact of advanced live support (ALS) on patients status in preclinical care.
Methods: The EMS systems of Bonn (GER, EP), Cantabria (ESP, EP), Coventry (UK, PM) and Richmond (US, PM) were analysed in relation to quality of structure, process and performance when first diagnosis on scene was cardiac arrest (OHCA), chest pain or dyspnoea. Data were collected prospectively between 01.
Background: Early identification of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the emergency room is still a difficult task. The objective of this study is to estimate the reliability of heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) in identifying ACS in the early stage of chest pain onset.
Methods: In a prospective multicentre study in emergency room patients with suspected ACS lasting less than 3 h, heart heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) was compared with conventional biomarkers.
A terrorism movement has been active in Spain during the last 20 years, with a painful number of victims. Civil Defense is in charge of the coordination of all the structures that are implicated in a terrorist incident. There are three typical patterns of attacks: (1) individual attacks; (2) group attacks; and (3) mass attacks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEmergency Medical Services (EMS) constitute a unique component of health care at the interface between primary and hospital care. EMS data within the pre-hospital setting represents an unparalleled source of epidemiological and health care information that have so far been neglected for public health monitoring. The European Emergency Data Project (EED Project) thus intends to identify common indicators for European EMS systems and to evaluate their suitability for integration into a comprehensive public health monitoring strategy.
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