The prevalence of quality issues and adverse outcomes among 72-hour return admissions in the emergency department.

Background: Records of patients discharged from the Emergency Department (ED) who return within 72 h and are admitted are often reviewed for potential quality issues.

Objectives: We explored 72-h return admissions and determined the prevalence and predictors for substandard management on the initial visit or any adverse outcome.

Methods: Retrospective review of quality assurance data from 72-h return admissions in three hospitals from 2006-2010 was performed.

Improving door-to-antibiotic time in severely septic emergency department patients.

Background: The Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) guidelines recommend that broad-spectrum antibiotics be administered to severely septic patients within 3 h of emergency department (ED) admission. Despite the well-established evidence regarding the benefit of timely antibiotics, adoption of the SSC recommendation into daily clinical practice has been slow and sporadic.

Study Objective: To study the impact of storing broad-spectrum antibiotics in an ED automated dispensing cabinet (ADC) on the timeliness of antibiotic administration in severely septic patients presenting to the ED.