Does Self-reporting Facilitate History Taking in Food Poisoning Mass-casualty Incidents?

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya-I Hsu ◽  
Ying C. Huang
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Medical History ◽  
Food Poisoning ◽  
Mass Casualty ◽  
Mass Casualty Incidents ◽  
Control Group ◽  
History Taking ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Experimental Group

AbstractIntroductionMedical history is an important contributor to diagnosis and patient management. In mass-casualty incidents (MCIs), health care providers are often overwhelmed by large numbers of casualties. An efficient, reliable, and affordable method of information collection is essential for effective health care response.Hypothesis/ProblemIn some MCIs, self-reporting of symptoms can decrease the time required for history taking, without sacrificing the completeness of triage information.MethodsTwo resident doctors and a number of seventh graders who had previous experience of abdominal discomfort were invited to join this study. A questionnaire was developed to collect information on common symptoms in food poisoning. Each question was scored, and enrolled students were randomly divided into two groups. The experimental group students answered the questionnaire first and then were interviewed to complete the medical history. The control group students were interviewed in the traditional way to collect medical history. Time of all interviews was measured and recorded. The time needed to complete the history taking and completeness of obtained information were compared with students’ t tests, or Mann-Whitney U tests, based on the normality of data. Comprehensibility of each question, scored by enrolled students, was reported by descriptive statistics.ResultsThere were 41 students enrolled: 22 in the experimental group and 19 in the control group. Time to complete history taking in the experimental group (163.0 seconds, SD=52.3) was shorter than that in the control group (198.7 seconds, SD=40.9) (P=.010). There was no difference in the completeness of history obtained between the experimental group and the control group (94.8%, SD=5.0 vs 94.2%, SD=6.1; P=.747). Between the two doctors, no significant difference was found in the time required for history taking (185.2 seconds, SD=42.2 vs 173.1 seconds, SD=58.6; P=.449), or the completeness of information (94.1%, SD=5.9 vs 95.0%, SD=5.0; P=.601). Most of the questions were scored “good” in comprehensibility.ConclusionSelf-reporting of symptoms can shorten the time of history taking during a food poisoning mass-casualty event without sacrificing the completeness of information.HsuY, HuangYC. Does self-reporting facilitate history taking in food poisoning mass-casualty incidents?Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(4):1-4.

Will Emergency Health Care Providers Respond to Mass Casualty Incidents?

2007 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
James I. Syrett ◽  
John G Benitez ◽  
William H. Livingston ◽  
Eric A. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Mass Casualty ◽  
Mass Casualty Incidents ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Emergency Health Care

scholarly journals The Significance of Witness Sensors for Mass Casualty Incidents and Epidemic Outbreaks (Preprint)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chih-Long Pan ◽  
Chih-Hao Lin ◽  
Yan-Ren Lin ◽  
Hsin-Yu Wen ◽  
Jet-Chau Wen
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Mass Casualty ◽  
Mass Casualty Incidents ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Innovative Strategies ◽  
Media Messages ◽  
Novel Concept

UNSTRUCTURED Due to the increasing number of natural and man-made disasters, mass casualty incidents occur more often than ever before. As a result, health care providers need to adapt in order to cope with the overwhelming patient surge. To ensure quality and safety in health care, accurate information in pandemic disease control, death reduction, and health quality promotion should be highlighted. However, obtaining precise information in real time is an enormous challenge to all researchers of the field. In this paper, innovative strategies are presented to develop a sound information network using the concept of “witness sensors.” To overcome the reliability and quality limitations of information obtained through social media, researchers must focus on developing solutions that secure the authenticity of social media messages, especially for matters related to health. To address this challenge, we introduce a novel concept based on the two elements of “witness” and “sensor.” Witness sensors can be key players designated to minimize limitations to quality of information and to distinguish fact from fiction during critical events. In order to enhance health communication practices and deliver valid information to end users, the education and management of witness sensors should be further investigated, especially for implementation during mass casualty incidents and epidemic outbreaks.

scholarly journals UTILIZATION POSSIBILITIES OF PREBIOTICS AND PROBIOTICS IN PREVENTION AND HEALTH CARE OF CALVES

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-127
Author(s):  
Luboš Zábranský ◽  
Miloslav Šoch ◽  
Pavel Novák ◽  
Jan Brouček ◽  
Anna Šimková ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Seaweed Extracts ◽  
Weight Gains ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Experimental Group

Abstract the aim of our study was to evaluate influence of probiotic agents (Lactovita) and seaweed extracts (Biopolym) with antidiarrheal effects on the prevention of diarrhoea in calves. In the experiment 22 experimental and 22 control calves were observed. The results of the observed incidence of diarrhoea in the control and experimental groups showed a positive effect of probiotic Lactovita and seaweed extracts Biopolymer. 32% of calves in the experimental group and 45% of calves in the control group became sick. Unfortunately, we could not demonstrate the statistical significance of these differences. The weight gains found in the 4th week after birth were by 37.6% higher in the group with Lactovita and Biopolym than in the control group.

Increased heart rate accelerates norepinephrine washout from normal myocardium

1987 ◽  
Vol 253 (6) ◽  
pp. H1581-H1585 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Henning ◽  
J. Cheng ◽  
A. M. Bhat ◽  
M. N. Levy
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Ventricular Myocardium ◽  
Neuronal Uptake ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Inotropic Response ◽  
Sympathetic Stimulation ◽  
Uptake Mechanism ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Experimental Group

We determined whether a change in heart rate affected the decay of the ventricular inotropic response to sympathetic stimulation in an experimental group and in a control group of anesthetized dogs. We induced complete heart block in each animal and paced the ventricles at rates of 90, 120, and 150 min-1 during two observation periods. In the experimental group, desipramine hydrochloride was given during the second period to block the neuronal uptake mechanism. The control animals did not receive desipramine during either period. The time required for the ventricular inotropic response to decay by 50% after cessation of a 2-min train of sympathetic stimulation was used as an index of the rate of norepinephrine washout from the myocardial interstitium. As we increased the pacing rate over the range of 90-150 min-1 in the experimental group, the mean decay half times (+/- SE) decreased by 36 +/- 4% (P less than 0.001) before desipramine and by 26 +/- 6% (P less than 0.001) in the presence of desipramine. These decrements in the decay half times were not significantly different from each other. The mean decay half times decreased by 36 +/- 4% (P less than 0.001) in the control dogs; the effects did not change appreciably from the first to the second observation period. We conclude that an increase in pacing frequency facilitates the washout of norepinephrine from the ventricular myocardium; this facilitation is equally pronounced regardless of whether the neuronal uptake mechanism is intact or suppressed.

Effect of Smoking on Visual Search Performance

1966 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 619-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorothy M. Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Visual Search ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Search Performance ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Experimental Group

The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine what effect no-smoking or reduced smoking had on time required to find a target on static displays. Four males served as Ss in the experimental group and four in the control groups. Search performance improved 34% for a group of habitual smokers who reduced their smoking or abstained from smoking for 2 wk. In contrast, search performance improved only 6% for the control group of smokers and 25% for the control group of nonsmokers. Although only a few Ss were measured, results indicate further study should be made.

scholarly journals Naprapathy Versus Orthopaedic Standard Care for Common Musculoskeletal Disorders: An 8-year Follow-up of a Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial in Sweden

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stina Lilje ◽  
Andreas Eklund ◽  
Anders Wykman ◽  
Tobias Sundberg ◽  
Eva Skillgate
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Bodily Pain ◽  
Control Group ◽  
National Health Care ◽  
Care Systems ◽  
Experimental Group

Abstract Background: Musculoskeletal pain is among the most common reasons for seeking care, specialist competence for its treatment in primary care limited and waiting lists for orthopaedics often amongst the longest. Many referrals to orthopaedics do not concern disorders that benefit from surgery. Manual therapy is effective, yet not integrated in national health care systems, and there is a lack of research on other than neck and low back pain, and a lack of long-term follow-ups. The present study evaluates the long-term effects of a complementary therapy for common orthopaedic disorders.Methods: An 8-year follow-up (96 months) of a pragmatic randomized controlled trial of naprapathy (experimental group) versus standard orthopaedic care (control group) for non-surgical patients of working age with the most common musculoskeletal disorders on the waiting lists(n=78). Bodily pain, physical function (SF36), Quality of life (QoL; SF6D), and data on health care utilization were collected.Results: N=75 participants in the original study sample completed the 8-year follow-up. The differences in bodily pain (21,7 (95% CI: 9,1-34,3)), physical function (17,6(6,7-28,4)), and QoLs (0,823 (95% CI: 0.785-0.862) compared with 0,713 (95% CI: 0.668-0.758)) were statistically significantly in favor of the experimental group (p-values<0,01). After sensitivity analysis the experimental group had altogether 260 health care visits compared with 1 161 in the control group.Conclusions:Naprapathy is a continuously effective treatment. Together with earlier research our study suggests that specialized manual therapy should be considered when triaging patients with common non-surgical musculoskeletal disorders in national health care systems.Trial registration: Not applicable, as per information given by ClinicalTrials.gov.

scholarly journals Opioid Tolerance – A Predictor of Increased Length of Stay and Higher Readmission Rates

2014 ◽  
Vol 4;17 (4;7) ◽  
pp. E503-E507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Padma Gulur
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Length Of Stay ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Massachusetts General Hospital ◽  
The United States ◽  
Opioid Tolerance ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Readmission Rates ◽  
Expected Length

The increasing use of opioids to manage pain in the United States over the last decade has resulted in a subset of our population developing opioid tolerance. While the management of opioid tolerant patients during acute episodes of care is well known to be a challenge amongst health care providers, there is little in the literature that has studied opioid tolerance as a predictor of outcomes. We conducted a review on all admissions to Massachusetts General Hospital over a period of 6 months, from January 2013 to June 2013, and identified opioid tolerant patients at admission using the FDA definition of opioid tolerance. To compare risk adjusted groups, we placed opioid tolerant patients and control patients into groups determined by expected length of stay of less than 2 days, 2 to 5 days, 5 to 10 days, and greater than 10 days. Opioid tolerant patients were then compared to the control for outcomes measures including observed length of stay and readmission rates. Our results show that all opioid tolerant patients have a significantly longer length of stay and a greater 30 day all cause readmission rate than the control group (P < 0.01). This trend was found in the first 3 risk adjusted groups, but not in the fourth group where expected length of stay was greater than 10 days. The opioid tolerant population is at risk given the poorer outcomes and higher health care costs associated with their care. It is imperative that we identify opportunities for improvement and delineate specific pathways for the care of these patients. Key words: Opioid tolerance, opioid tolerant patient population, opioid tolerant patients, readmission rates, length of stay

scholarly journals Effectiveness of Resiliency Training in the Mental Health of the Red Crescent Health Care Teams

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1.SP) ◽  
pp. 64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haleh ADIBI LARIJANI ◽  
Gholamreza GARMAROUDI
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Physical Symptoms ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Health Care Teams ◽  
Resiliency Training ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Experimental Group

Background and Objectives: Iran is considered as a country prone to accidents due to its geographical situations. The health and medical teams at the National and International Crescent Society have always played a central role in responding to crises. In addition to financial and psychological damage, psychological damage is one of the indemnities that people living in affected areas and relief workers pay in natural and man-made disasters. Therefore, improving the mental health of emergency forces is essential.Method: This study was an experimental study with control group. The research community comprised 126 members of the Primary Care teams in the Red Crescent Health Care. Sampling was done randomly from among the health care teams of the Red Crescent society. Subjects in both experimental and control groups completed the Mental Health Questionnaire (GHQ) in the pre-test and post-test. At last, the data were analyzed using SPSS software and descriptive statistical tests such as Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Mann–Whitney U test and Wilcoxon.Results: The results of this study showed that resiliency training has been effective in promoting the mental health of members in the Red Crescent Health Care Teams. Indices of physical symptoms, anxiety, social performance and depression were not significantly different in the control group before and after the training. Indices of physical symptoms, anxiety and social performance were significant in the exerimrntal group before and after the training. However, the depression index was not significant in the experimental group before and after the training (55 = p). Indices of physical symptoms, anxiety, social performance and depression were not significantly different in the pretest between the control and the experimental group. Indices of physical symptoms, anxiety and depression were significant in the post test between the control and experimental groups. However, social performance index was not significantly different between the two groups in the post test (291 = P).Conclusion: Regarding to the fact that the mental health of the members of Red Crescent health care teams have been enhanced by resiliency training and will ultimately affect the future performance of the health and medical personnel in crisis situations, it’s recommended that coherent training courses be held in all the provinces.

scholarly journals (P1-38) Emergency Department Preparedness for Training Management Plan towards Mass Casualty Incidents

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S1) ◽  
pp. s110-s111
Author(s):  
W.L. Chan
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Food Poisoning ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Mass Casualty ◽  
Mass Casualty Incidents ◽  
Working Relationships ◽  
Work Processes ◽  
Hospital Emergency ◽  
New Information ◽  
Planning Department

It is important to equip emergency department (ED) staff with skills to manage mass casualty incidents (MCI) as disasters strike without warning. Our hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, has been the national screening centre for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (SARS) and H1N1 outbreaks in 2003 and 2009. Furthermore, our ED has managed casualties from mass food poisoning in the community. We would like to share our experiences in training our staff for MCI. For the ED to operate smoothly in a MCI, comprehensive training of staff during “peace” time is essential. We have a selected team of doctors and nurses as the department disaster workgroup. This team, together with the hospital emergency planning department, prepare the disaster protocols using an “all hazard approach concept” and aim to minimise variations between different protocols (Conventional, Infectious disease, Hazmat, Radioactive MCI). These protocols are updated regularly, with new information disseminated to all staff. Next, all staff must be well-versed in the protocols. New staffs undergo orientation programmes to familiarize them with the work processes. Regular audits are conducted to ensure that the quality is well-maintained. Additionally, training also occurs at the inter-departmental and national levels. There are regular activation exercises to test inter-departmental response to MCI and collaborations with Ministry of Health to conduct disaster exercises e.g. the biennial Kingfisher Exercise in preparation for radiation-related MCI. Such exercises improve communication and working relationships within the ED and with other departments. The camaraderie developed can act as a pillar of support during stressful times of MCI. Lastly, the ED staffs attend local and international courses and conferences to update ourselves on the latest training and knowledge in the handling of MCI. This allows us to share our ideas and to learn from our local and international counterparts, and helps better prepare ourselves.

Psychiatric Consultations in Medical Outpatients with Abdominal Pain: Patient and Physician Effects

1994 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 339-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludwien Meeuwesen ◽  
Frits J. Huyse ◽  
Franka J. M. Meiland ◽  
Gerrit T. Koopmans ◽  
Ab J. M. Donker
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Abdominal Pain ◽  
Psychological Status ◽  
Pain Patient ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Psychiatric Consultation ◽  
Index Group ◽  
Consultation Intervention ◽  
Medical Outpatients

Objective: The purpose of the study was to assess the effect of a psychiatric consultation intervention in terms of changes in 1) the patients' psychological symptoms, and 2) satisfaction of general practitioners (GPs) concerning their cooperation with the internists. Method: In a randomized controlled design, the effect of a psychiatric consultation intervention in medical outpatients with abdominal pain ( n = 106) has been assessed. The goal of the intervention was 1) a holistic approach toward the patients' symptoms, and 2) the improvement of the cooperation between primary and secondary medical health services. The intervention was designed at the health care provider level; the psychiatrist did not see or examine the patient. The 106 patients were subdivided in an index group ( N = 49) and a control group ( N = 57). The major outcome measures were the psychological status of the patient and degree of satisfaction of the GPs about the cooperation with the medical specialists. Results: At six months follow-up, there was a significantly greater decline in depressive symptoms assessed by SCL-90 in the patient index group compared with the control group. The GPs of the index group were significantly more satisfied with the cooperation and communication with the internists compared with the control group. Conclusions: An experimental psychiatric consultation intervention did effect the patients' well-being to a certain degree, and especially the GPs were affected in terms of satisfaction. The relevance of improving the communication between health care providers in the management of somatizing patients is discussed.

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