Does Practice Match Protocol? A Comparison of Triage-to-Provider Time Among More vs. Less Acute Emergency Department Patients.

Introduction The Emergency Severity Index (ESI) stratifies emergency department (ED) patients for triage, from "most acute" (level 1) to "least acute" (level 5). Many EDs have a split flow model where less acute (ESI 4 and 5) are seen in a fast track, while more acute (ESI 1, 2, and 3) are seen in the acute care area. A core principle of emergency medicine (EM) is to attend to more acute patients first.

Integrating Pre-test Probability and Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) in the Emergency Department (ED) Diagnosis of Small Bowel Obstruction (SBO).

Introduction A computed tomography (CT) scan and point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) are commonly employed for diagnosing small bowel obstructions (SBOs). Prior studies demonstrated that POCUS has 90-95% sensitivity and specificity compared with CT scanning, which is the gold standard. Unlike other imaging modalities (in which the ordering and performing clinician are not the same), POCUS-performing/interpreting sonologists must recognize the risk of confirmation bias in the POCUS application.

Racial, Age, and Regional Disparities in Maternal Mortality in the USA, 1999-2020.

Background: The health and well-being of mothers are essential for a thriving and prosperous society, yet maternal mortality remains a pressing public health problem in the USA. We aimed to examine the US trends in maternal mortality from 1999 to 2020 based on age, race/ethnicity, and census region.

Methods: Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research were used to identify maternal mortality cases.

Investigating the Spatial Relationship between Social Vulnerability and Healthcare Facility Distribution in Nassau County, New York.

Health is a fundamental human right, yet healthcare facilities are not distributed equitably across all communities. This study aims to investigate the distribution of healthcare facilities in Nassau County, New York, and examine whether the distribution is equitable across different social vulnerability levels. An optimized hotspot analysis was conducted on a dataset of 1695 healthcare facilities-dental, dialysis, ophthalmic, and urgent care-in Nassau County, and social vulnerability was measured using the FPIS codes.

Recent trends in fatal unintentional drowning rates in the United States, 1999-2020.

Background: This study aimed to examine the trends in fatal unintentional drowning rates among persons aged ≤ 29 years by sex, age, race/ethnicity, and the U.S. census region from 1999 through 2020.

Health Related Quality of Life among TB Patients: Question Mark on Performance of TB DOTS in Pakistan.

Due to long duration of treatment and use of several agents, tuberculosis can lead to poor health related quality of life among patients. The present study was designed to assess health related quality of life among pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Pakistan. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used.