OBJECTIVE To review the current strategies for use of sedatives and analgesics in emergency rooms and intensive care units. SOURCE OF DATA Original data from our emergency rooms and intensive care units; Medline literature review focused on sedatives and analgesic drugs; textbooks. SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS Despite the advances in understanding pain in children, in many critical care units th...

BACKGROUND Emergency Medical Care is an important component of health care system. Unfortunately it is however, ignored in many low income countries. We assessed the availability and quality of facility-based emergency medical care in the government health care system at district level in a low income country - Pakistan. METHODS We did a quantitative pilot study of a convenience sample of 22 ...

A retrospective review of all cases of emergency peripartum hysterectomy performed between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2007 at Muhimbili National Hospital was done to determine the incidence, indications and complications, background characteristics, antenatal care attendance, referral status, and maternal and foetal outcomes. There were 55,152 deliveries during the study period and 165 ca...

Objective To analyze the determinants of emergency contraception non-use among women in unplanned and ambivalent pregnancies. Method Cross-sectional study with a probabilistic sample of 366 pregnant women from 12 primary health care units in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. A multinomial logistic regression was performed, comparing three groups: women who used emergency contraception to prevent o...

BACKGROUND While research has demonstrated the importance of a clean health care environment, there is a lack of research on the role portable medical equipment (PME) play in the transmission cycle of healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs). This study investigated the patterns and sequence of contact events among health care workers, patients, surfaces, and medical equipment in a hospital enviro...

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (DSM-5) has recently recognized a particular risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among first responders (criterion A4), acknowledging emergency units as stressful places of employment. Little data is yet available on DSM-5 among emergency health operators. The aim of this study was to assess DSM-5 symptomatologica...

BACKGROUND Patient safety is of the utmost importance in health care. The patient safety culture in an institution has great impact on patient safety. To enhance patient safety and to design strategies to reduce medical injuries, there is a current focus on measuring the patient safety culture. The aim of the present study was to describe the patient safety culture in an ED at two different hos...

Hospital overcrowding and diversion of ambulances from emergency departments are being recognized as increasing problems in the health care system. This article, a descriptive narrative, examines the various factors contributing to the problem and describes how collaborative approaches to public health issues can be applied. It describes Milwaukee's experience with a collaborative approach. The...

Psychiatry services are being initiated and delivered in the general hospitals. Though this is being achieved at a slow pace, nevertheless, the trend is being set. Community programmes lor the delivery of psychiatric services are also being planned. The delivery of mental health care services at the primary health centres and the peripheral areas would perhaps be strengthened it the role of Gen...

Controversy continues over the value of dedicated "stroke units" since improved outcome in patients treated in such units has not been demonstrated. For most hospitals a specialized stroke unit would not be feasible even if effective. We have provided neurological consultation for stroke patients at all 16 acute care hospitals in Cincinnati. Only two hospitals have neurology/ neurosurgery inten...