ABSTRACT
The postnatal period offers an opportunity to provide information and education to new mothers. We analysed factors associated with unscheduled presentations of newborns to local primary care, maternity and paediatric services over a 3 week period to assess whether these could be targeted with discharge planning educational interventions. Data was collected prospectively from electronic databases and manually from patient records in the maternity hospital. Two hundred and seventy six patients under 6 weeks of age presented to the three services. Half of these visits were unscheduled 137 (49%). 40 (29%) of those that were unscheduled were felt to represent benign neonatal variants whilst 28 (20%) presented with feeding problems. Eighty one (59.3%) patients were discharged home, and this was unaffected by referrer patterns; GPs 19 (56%), Nurses 13 (57%) or parents77 (67%). At least 40 (29%) of reviews were felt to be inappropriate and could have been prevented. There is room for cost saving and quality improvement of the service through education.
Subject(s)
Continuity of Patient Care/organization & administration , Education, Nonprofessional , Health Services Misuse/prevention & control , Patient Discharge/standards , Postnatal Care , Adult , Appointments and Schedules , Education, Nonprofessional/methods , Education, Nonprofessional/organization & administration , Female , General Practice/statistics & numerical data , Hospitals, Maternity/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Ireland , Male , Neonatal Nursing/statistics & numerical data , Postnatal Care/methods , Postnatal Care/organization & administrationABSTRACT
Excessive drinking increases the risk of dying unnaturally. In the Republic of Ireland such deaths are referred to the State Pathologist. Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is routinely measured. We created a database of cases presenting to the State Pathologist over a nine year period (2000-2008 inclusive) to evaluate the relationship between alcohol and fatal traumatic brain injuries (FTBI). Of a total of 1778 cases, 332 (275 Male [M]; 57 Female [F]) died of head injuries. Fatalities were highest in males aged 36-50 (N = 97) and 26-35 (N = 73). Assaults (N = 147), falls (N = 95), road traffic accidents (RTA) (N = 50) and suicide (N = 15) were the commonest modes of presentation. A positive blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was found in 36% of assaults, 41% of falls and 40% of suicides. In the RTA group BAC was positive in 59% of pedestrians, 33% of drivers and 14% of passengers. Alcohol clearly plays a significant role in FTBI in the forensic setting.
