Study: health equity an important aspect of improving quality of care provided to children in emergency departments

A new multi-site study led by Indiana University School of Medicine found increasing pediatric readiness in emergency departments reduces, but does not eliminate, racial and ethnic disparities in children and adolescents with acute medical emergencies.

VUMC receives $7 million award from PCORI to compare breathing tube sedation

  Vanderbilt University Medical Center has received a $7 million, five-year funding award from PCORI (Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute) to compare two sedatives used to place breathing tubes in the emergency department (ED) or intensive care unit (ICU). To provide support with a breathing machine, doctors must place a breathing tube into a patient’s mouth and throat, and they are given a medication to make them sleep during this procedure.

FAU Experts for the 2023 Hurricane Season

With the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season officially starting on June 1 and ending Nov. 30, several Florida Atlantic University faculty experts are available to discuss various issues surrounding hurricane preparedness, evacuation and aftermath.

NIH-Funded Research to Develop Pneumonia Severity Prediction Tool to Improve Emergency Care of Children

Todd Florin, MD, MSCE, from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago recently was awarded a $5.8 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for a multicenter study to derive and broadly validate the first emergency department (ED)-based pediatric community-acquired pneumonia severity (PedCAPS) score. This objective score will help avoid many unnecessary hospitalizations in children at low risk of severe outcomes, while targeting more focused therapies towards the lower proportion of children at highest risk for severe disease.

Teaching Drones to Hear Screams from Catastrophe Victims

Unmanned aerial vehicles may help emergency crews find those in need and provide situational awareness over a large area. During the 180th ASA Meeting, Macarena Varela from Fraunhofer FKIE will describe how a system using an array of microphones and advanced processing techniques could be a lifesaver for disaster victims. The session, “Bearing Estimation of Screams Using a Volumetric Microphone Array Mounted on a UAV,” will take place Tuesday, June 8.

Due to the COVID surge, ambulances in the Los Angeles area are refusing to transfer patients with no chance of survival

As the surge of COVID-19 cases increase exponentially across the U.S., the hospitals in the Los Angeles metro area have been particularly hit hard. There are now more than 7,600 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Los Angeles County. Ambulance crews in the area have been advised to cut back on their use of oxygen and to not bring to hospitals patients who have virtually no chance of survival in order to increase capacity and triage care to focus on the sickest patients.

Trauma and kids:

As catastrophic bushfires continue to rage across New South Wales and Queensland, thousands of people are reeling from the devastation. It’s a shocking start to Australia’s fire season, but beyond the physical damage, the emotional scars persist, especially for Australia’s youngest citizens. Now, in new research from the University of South Australia, researchers have explored the growing uncertainty faced by children aged 0-8 years in disaster zones, finding that early childhood teachers hold a vital role in supporting children dealing with trauma.