Profile and Motivation of Patients Consulting in Emergency Departments While not Requiring Such a Level of Care.

Consultations that do not require an emergency department (ED) level of care have increased. We explored attitudes of non-urgent patients in two academic hospitals in France with a similar fast track organization. One of them is a Parisian hospital with 90,000 patients/year who are admitted to the ED, while the other admits 40,000 patients/year in a smaller city. During one month in 2018, the triage nurse handed out a survey to patients coming for non-urgent consultations. It was given back to the fast track physician at the end of the visit; 598 patients agreed to answer. They were mostly young males with adequate social coverage, consulting for osteo-articular pathologies, without any significant difference between the two sites (p = 0.32). They were equally satisfied with the care they received (p = 0.38). Satisfaction was inversely correlated to waiting time (p < 0.0001). Convenience, accessibility of emergency facilities, and geographic proximity were motivation factors. These results suggest that primary care providers who can access testing facilities in accordance with patient needs might be a solution to help reduce overcrowding in EDs.

Climate Change Impacts on Disaster and Emergency Medicine Focusing on Mitigation Disruptive Effects: an International Perspective.

In recent decades, climate change has been responsible for an increase in the average temperature of the troposphere and of the oceans, with consequences on the frequency and intensity of many extreme weather phenomena. Climate change’s effects on natural disasters can be expected to induce a rise in humanitarian crises. In addition, it will surely impact the population’s long-term general health, especially among the most fragile. There are foreseeable health risks that both ambulatory care organizations and hospitals will face as global temperatures rise. These risks include the geographic redistribution of infectious (particularly zoonotic) diseases, an increase in cardiac and respiratory illnesses, as well as a host of other health hazards. Some of these risks have been detailed for most developed countries as well as for some developing countries. Using these existing risk assessments as a template, organizational innovations as well as implementation strategies should be proposed to mitigate the disruptive effects of these health risks on emergency departments and by extension, reduce the negative impact of climate change on the populations they serve.

Eyelid inflammation: An uncommon cause in occidental countries.

BACKGROUND: Myiasis designates the infestation of live human and vertebrate animals with dipterous (two-winged) larvae (maggots) and is the fourth most common travel-associated skin disease. Furuncle is the most common aspect of cutaneous myiasis. CASE PRESENTATION: A 24-year-old Caucasian female had been back from Cap-Vert. She described pruritus, slight pain, and the sensation of a foreign body moving in the eyelid. Physical examination showed a single furuncle-like nodule with surrounding erythema and a central pore of the upper eyelid through which a serosanguinous fluid was exuding. A larval end was visible to the naked eye through the aforementioned pore. Treatment consisted of the application of petroleum jelly (Vaseline®) to produce localized hypoxia. A transparent occlusive dressing was set for a duration of 2 h. The larva, Cordylobia antropophaga, spontaneously externalized to breathe and was extracted. DISCUSSION: There is an increase in travelers returning from tropical countries. Consequently, travel-associated dermatoses are increasing in non-endemic countries. Context of travel and typical clinical presentation strongly suggested to evoke a cutaneous myiasis. The typical furuncular lesion is a papule or nodule with a central punctum that exudes serosanguinous or purulent fluid. Ultrasound can be used to confirm the diagnosis. Treatment consists of three techniques: methods producing localized hypoxia to force emergence of the larvae, application of toxic substances to the eggs and larvae, and mechanical or surgical debridement. Surgery and antibiotics are usually unnecessary. Prevention of furunculous myiasis is based on vector control and individual actions to improve hygiene.