Head-and-neck cancer (HNC) can present with life.threatening symptoms in the emergency department. Patients can sometimes be misdiagnosed with pulmonary disease due to similar signs and symptoms, ultimately leading to delayed diagnosis and potentially devastating consequences. Reasons for this include lack of awareness of patient risk factors and knowledge of the myriad of presenting complaints in the disease process among physicians working in primary care and in the emergency department. This article explores the contemporary risk factors and common presenting symptoms and discusses initial management for a patient with potential head-and-neck malignancy. Emergency presentations of HNC are wide ranging and can overlap with common respiratory pathologies. Clinician awareness of this can assist the team in deciding what appropriate examination and investigations are required to reduce the risk of delaying diagnosis and further treatment.

BACKGROUND: Emergency abdominal surgery is associated with significant postoperative morbidity and mortality. The delivery of standardized pathways in this setting may have the potential to transform clinical care and improve patient outcomes.
METHODS: The OVID SP versions of MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched between January 1950 and October 2022. All randomized and non-randomized cohort studies comparing protocolized care streams with standard care protocols in adult patients (>18 years old) undergoing major emergency abdominal surgery with 30-day follow-up data were included. Studies were excluded if they reported on standardized care protocols in the trauma or elective setting. Outcomes assessed included length of stay, 30-day postoperative morbidity, 30-day postoperative mortality and 30-day readmission and reoperations rates. Risk of bias was assessed using ROBINS-I for non-randomized studies and RoB-2 for randomized controlled trials. Meta-analysis was performed using random effects modelling.
RESULTS: Seventeen studies including 20 927 patients were identified, with 12 359 patients undergoing protocolized care pathways and 8568 patients undergoing standard care pathways. Thirteen unique protocolized pathways were identified, with a median of eight components (range 6-15), with compliance of 24-100%. Protocolized care pathways were associated with a shorter hospital stay compared to standard care pathways (mean difference -2.47, 95% c.i. -4.01 to -0.93, P = 0.002). Protocolized care pathways had no impact on postoperative mortality (OR 0.87, 95% c.i. 0.41 to 1.87, P = 0.72). A reduction in specific postoperative complications was observed, including postoperative pneumonia (OR 0.42 95% c.i. 0.24 to 0.73, P = 0.002) and surgical site infection (OR 0.34, 95% c.i. 0.21 to 0.55, P < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Protocolized care pathways in the emergency setting currently lack standardization, with variable components and low compliance; however, despite this they are associated with short-term clinical benefits.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify factors influencing orthopaedic trauma patients\' experiences and satisfaction with emergency department (ED) care and follow-up through Virtual Fracture Care (VFC) review workflow.
METHODS: This study employed an explorative, descriptive, qualitative design using individual, semistructured interviews.
METHODS: An urban level 2 trauma centre and teaching hospital in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
METHODS: Eligible patients were Dutch-speaking or English-speaking orthopaedic trauma patients, aged 18 years or above, who visited the hospital\'s ED between June and September 2022, and were treated through VFC review workflow. Exclusion criteria were: reason for follow-up other than injury, eye/motor/verbal score <15 at ED admission, follow-up treatment in another hospital, treatment initiated in another hospital, acute hospital admission (<24 hours). Twenty-three patients were invited for participation, of whom 15 participated and were interviewed.
RESULTS: Several influential factors contributed to seven generic themes: (1) waiting times, (2) information provision, (3) healthcare professional communication, (4) care expectations, (5) care coordination, (6) care environment and (7) patient condition. Overall, participants were satisfied with received care. Interpersonal skills of healthcare professionals, and timing and content of provided information were specifically valued. Additionally, patients stated that their needs in the ED differed from those after ED discharge, and appreciated the way the VFC review workflow addressed this. Points of improvement included more active involvement of patients in the care process and prevention of inconsistent instructions by different healthcare professionals.
CONCLUSIONS: Patient experiences with ED care and VFC review follow-up are influenced by factors categorised into seven themes. The VFC review workflow effectively addresses these factors, leading to positive feedback. Recommendations for healthcare professionals include anticipating evolving post-ED information needs, engaging patients early to provide clarity about the care process, involving them in treatment decisions and expanding information provision across the entire care pathway.

BACKGROUND: Rural Australians with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) face higher mortality rates due to limited access to specialised cardiac services. Paramedic-administered prehospital thrombolysis (PHT) has emerged as an alternative to primary percutaneous intervention (pPCI) for patients facing barriers or delays to cardiac care. There is variability in PHT practices among Australian ambulance services, lacking standardised definitions and outcome measures. The aim of this scoping review was to identify quality indicators and influencing factors associated with outcomes for patients receiving PHT.
METHODS: A systematic search of literature in SCOPUS and Academic Search Complete, CINAHL and Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition databases via EBSCO (Health) was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. Peer-reviewed studies from the past decade were screened using search criteria relevant to prehospital thrombolysis and quality indicators. Data extraction was performed and themed using five domains from the Utstein-style template commonly known for standardised prehospital cardiac arrest reporting.
RESULTS: After removing duplicates, the search yielded 3596 articles with 28 empirical studies meeting inclusion criteria for the review. These were primarily retrospective cohort studies performed in Australia, Canada and the United States. The scoping review identified 24 clinical quality indicators and factors related to Emergency Medical Service (EMS) systems, AMI recognition and ambulance dispatch, patient variables, PHT processes and patient outcomes. These findings correlate to the Donabedian structure-process-outcome quality of care model and have utility to inform future PHT reporting guidelines for jurisdictional ambulance services.
CONCLUSIONS: Given the variability in prehospital practice across Australian ambulance services, standardised reporting on quality indicators for PHT is needed. The Utstein-style template used to report data on pre-hospital cardiac arrest, trauma and airway management could be used for quality improvement in PHT. This review presents 24 quality indicators representing system, recognition and response, patient, process, and outcomes related to PHT. These results could be used to inform a future Delphi study and Utstein-like reporting guideline for prehospital thrombolysis.

UNASSIGNED: We conducted this systematic review to identify emergency department (ED) relevant recommendations in current guidelines for care of transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) people internationally.
UNASSIGNED: Using PRISMA criteria, we did a systematic search of Ovid Medline, EMBASE, and CINAHL and a hand search of gray literature for clinical practice guidelines (CPG) or best practice statements (BPS) published until June 31, 2021. Articles were included if they were in English, included medical or paramedical care of TGD populations of any age, in any setting, region or nation, and were national or international in scope. Exclusion criteria included primary research studies, review articles, narrative reviews or otherwise non-CPG or BPS, editorials, or letters to the editor, articles of regional or individual hospital scope, non-medical articles, articles not in English, or if a more recent version of the guideline existed. Recommendations relevant to ED care were identified, recorded, and assessed for quality using the AGREE-II and AGREE-REX criteria. We performed interclass correlation coefficient for interrater reliability. Recommendations were coded for the relevant point of care while in the ED (triage, registration, rooming, investigations, etc.).
UNASSIGNED: We screened 1,658 unique articles, and 1,555 were excluded. Of the remaining 103 articles included, seven had recommendations relevant to care in the ED, comprising a total of 10 recommendations. Four guidelines and eight recommendations were of high quality. They included recommendations for testing, prevention, referral, and provision of post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV, and culturally competent care of TGD people.
UNASSIGNED: This is the most comprehensive review to date of guidelines and best practices statements offering recommendations for care of ED TGD patients, and several are immediately actionable. There are also many opportunities to build community-led research programs to synthesize and inform a comprehensive dedicated guideline for care of TGD people in emergency settings.

Mountain biking is growing in participation but carries risk for severe injury and burden on health systems. Little is known about the impact of these injuries on emergency medical services, definitive healthcare, and factors contributing to accidents. This review aimed to determine the health service impacts of severe mountain bike trauma and risk factors, with a view to understanding critical gaps and needs. A systematic online search was conducted using the databases PubMed and MEDLINE complete and grey literature relating to mountain bike injury since the databases\' inception to July 2023. The results show that although mountain biking has relatively high injury rates that are increasing, the impacts on health services were rarely documented, with some evidence indicating that even small increases in injuries from race events can overwhelm local health services. Severe injuries were more common in downhill disciplines. However, the definitions of what constitutes severe injury were variable. Severe injuries were more common in downhill disciplines, influenced by the rider skill level, demographics, participation in competitive events, trail design, environmental factors, and healthcare availability. Further research in these areas is needed, along with the more consistent reporting of injury severity.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to estimate the type and frequency of different medical emergencies that occurred over the study period (twelve years) and discuss the lessons learned and the modifications made in the curriculum to better equip dental students and faculty in their management.
METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted to evaluate all medical emergencies that needed activation of the response team at our school from 2008 to 2020.
RESULTS: The emergency response system was activated 250 times during the 12-year period. There were 132 medical emergencies in the pre-doctoral clinic and 105 events in the post-doctoral clinic (p 0.0680). Most of the emergencies occurred in patients between 45 and 64 years of age. Syncope occurs most often followed by adverse cardiovascular, respiratory, anxiety, and hypoglycemic events.
CONCLUSIONS: Medical emergencies occurring in a dental school provide a unique opportunity for students to gain experience in their management. The key lies in preparing the students and faculty to prevent them from occurring, but should these occur, then they should be able to promptly recognize symptoms and institute prompt intervention.

BACKGROUND: The use of intravenous fluid therapy in patients with major trauma in prehospital settings is still controversial. We conducted an umbrella review to evaluate which is the best volume expansion in the resuscitation of a hemorrhagic shock to support the development of major trauma guideline recommendations.
METHODS: We searched PubMed, Embase, and CENTRAL up to September 2022 for systematic reviews (SRs) investigating the use of volume expansion fluid on mortality and/or survival. Quality assessment was performed using AMSTAR 2 and the Certainty of the evidence was assessed with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.
RESULTS: We included 14 SRs investigating the effects on mortality with the comparisons: use of crystalloids, blood components, and whole blood. Most SRs were judged as critically low with slight overlapping of primary studies and high consistency of results. For crystalloids, inconsistent evidence of effectiveness in 28- to 30-day survival (primary endpoint) was found for the hypertonic saline/dextran group compared with isotonic fluid solutions with moderate certainty of evidence. Pre-hospital blood component infusion seems to reduce mortality, however, as the certainty of evidence ranges from very low to moderate, we are unable to provide evidence to support or reject its use. The blood component ratio was in favor of higher ratios among all comparisons considered with moderate to very low certainty of evidence. Results about the effects of whole blood are very uncertain due to limited and heterogeneous interventions in studies included in SRs.
CONCLUSIONS: Hypertonic crystalloid use did not result in superior 28- to 30-day survival. Increasing evidence supports the scientific rationale for early use of high-ratio blood components, but their use requires careful consideration. Preliminary evidence is very uncertain about the effects of whole blood and further high-quality studies are required.

UNASSIGNED: Symptomatic irreversible pulpitis (SIP) or symptomatic apical periodontitis (SAP) are two painful conditions often warranting emergency treatment. The most common emergency treatments supported by evidence are pulpotomy and pulpectomy and are normally performed under time-constrained circumstances. However, there is no strong evidence of which treatment suggested in literature a clinician can use to reduce endodontic pain effectively. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review is to investigate the present knowledge on postoperative pain related to the two types of emergency treatments available for treating SIP and SAP.
UNASSIGNED: Randomized controlled trials investigating postoperative pain after emergency treatments (pulpotomy and/or pulpectomy) on permanent dentition with signs and symptoms of SIP and/or SAP were searched in three major databases from 1978 until 2022. Risk of bias was assessed with Cochrane\'s tool.
UNASSIGNED: Only five studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The included studies indicated that pulpotomy and pulpectomy are both suitable treatment options for SAP and SIP, as they provide sufficient alleviation of pain in permanent dentition. However, inconsistent results were found between the included trials on which emergency treatment is more effective in reducing pain. Cochrane\'s tool revealed that the studies had a low risk of bias. Limitations found in the design of the included randomized control trials decreased the level of evidence. None of the included studies accounted for essential confounding variables, such as factors affecting pain (including the psychological aspects). Moreover, possible non-odontogenic pain was not assessed, and therefore, it was not excluded; hence, affecting the internal validity of the studies.
UNASSIGNED: There are controversies within the available randomized control trials on which treatment is most effective in reducing emergency pain. This could be due to some weaknesses in the design of the clinical trials. Thus, further well-designed studies are warranted to draw conclusions on which emergency treatment is more effective in reducing pain.
UNASSIGNED: PROSPERO (CRD42023422282).

Patients experiencing incarceration face a multitude of healthcare disparities. These patients are disproportionately affected by a variety of chronic medical conditions. Patients who are incarcerated often remain shackled throughout their hospital course, experience bias from members of the healthcare team, and have many barriers to privacy given the omnipresence of corrections officers. Despite this, many physicians report little formal training on caring for this unique patient population. In this narrative review, we examine the current literature on patients who are incarcerated, especially as it pertains to their care in the emergency department (ED).We also propose solutions to address these barriers to care in the ED setting.