OBJECTIVE Musculoskeletal conditions have an enormous and growing impact worldwide. In spite of that, some clinicians are not confident in their own musculoskeletal examination skills. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms in an emergency room, and the frequency of musculoskeletal physical examination description on those cases. METHODS This was a cross-secti...

The aim of this study was to analyze the management of headache patients presenting to the emergency room (ER) at a university hospital in Zagreb. Retrospective analysis of all patients with headache was carried out during 2007. Patients were analyzed according to the diagnoses, diagnostic procedures, treatment and further referral. Among 6225 patients, 1385 (22.3%) complained of headache; ther...

BACKGROUND Suicidal behaviours are major public health concerns worldwide. They are associated with risk factors that vary with age and gender, occur in combination, and may change over time. The aim of our study was to investigate how frequently patients visiting a hospital emergency room (ER) require a psychiatric consultation for attempted suicide, and to outline the characteristics of this ...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to investigate the most common reasons for urgent ophthalmology consultations in both the emergency room and inpatient settings at a large public hospital served by a busy ophthalmology residency program, and to track patient follow-up rates. METHODS We reviewed the medical records of all patients evaluated by the ophthalmology consultation service at ...

In an emergency room situation, a suspected infection is one of the main reasons for seeking medical attention. Cases of bacterial sepsis need to be clinically identified and an antibiotic treatment administered, yet the clinical signs lack sensitivity and specificity. These infections trigger an inflammatory response syndrome of variable intensity, in which the clinical or biological manifesta...

BACKGROUND Over a period of three decades, medical personnel working in our emergency room observed that fewer severe cases presented to the emergency department. The objective of this study is to assess whether a genuine change in the presentation rates of clinically unstable non-trauma patients to the emergency room indeed exists. METHODS We conducted a retrospective review of patients trea...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the management of patients complaining of high blood pressure (BP) in a cardiological emergency room. METHODS Patients referred to the cardiological emergency room with the main complaint of high blood pressure were consecutively selected. The prescriptions and the choice of antihypertensive drugs were assessed. The classification of these patients as hypertensive emerge...

Emergency room utilization in Canada is considerably higher than in other industrialized countries. Despite significant investments, recurrent emergency room crises persist. Focusing particularly on the situation in Quebec, this paper examines the evolution of Canada's and Quebec's healthcare systems over the past 40 years and identifies the key developments that resulted in today's problems an...