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Background: Chest pain is one of the most common reasons for emergency department (ED) visits. Patients presenting with inconclusive symptoms complicate the diagnostic process and add to the burden upon the ED. This study aimed to determine factors possibly influencing ED decisions on hospitalization versus discharge for patients with the diagnosis of chest pain., Methods: In the cohort study including 400 patients admitted to the emergency unit with a working diagnosis of chest pain, data on demographics, medical history, symptoms, lab results, and risk scores were collected from the medical records of patients admitted to the ED with a working diagnosis of chest pain. To reduce potential bias, the analysis was restricted to 330 patients who were referred to the ED by a primary care provider or clinic for chest pain., Results: Of 330 patients admitted to the ED, 58.5% were discharged, and 41.5% were hospitalized. Hospitalized patients were significantly older, with a median age of 70 versus 57 years for those discharged ( p < 0.001). A higher proportion of hospitalizations occurred during the late-night shift. Significant predictors of hospitalization included hyperlipidemia (OR 3.246), diaphoresis (OR 8.525), dyspnea (OR 2.897), and hypertension (OR 1.959). Nursing home residents had a lower risk of hospitalization (OR 0.381). The area under the ROC curve for this model was 0.801 (95% CI: 0.753-0.848), indicating the predictive accuracy of the model in estimating the probability of admission. The HEART (history, ECG, age, risk factors, and troponin level) score was more effective than the TIMI (Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction) score in predicting the need for hospitalization, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.807 compared to 0.742 for TIMI., Conclusions: The HEART score in comparison with TIMI score proved especially valuable for quick risk assessment for hospitalization. The model that included hyperlipidemia, diaphoresis, dyspnea, and hypertension was the most predictive for the risk of hospitalization. Further research with larger populations is needed to validate these findings.

Background: On October 7, 2023, Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on the State of Israel and kidnapped 251 people into captivity to the Gaza Strip. Several months later, as part of a humanitarian exchange deal, 105 hostages were released in five phases and admitted to one of six hospitals throughout the country for treatment. Shamir Medical Center (SMC) was one of these facilities. This study aims to describe the structure, process and outcomes of establishing a comprehensive, multi-step, operational protocol for receiving hostages returning from captivity., Method: The process of preparing SMC as a receiving center, the establishment of procedures for implementation of the medical protocol, and the assessment of multi-disciplinary team preparedness and implementation and outcomes in an institutional protocol are described., Results: 24 returning hostages were received at SMC. Social workers, dietitians and translators were used by 100% of the majority group of returning hostages from the same country of origin and the sole individual from the other country of origin utilized a dietitian, social worker, ENT consultations, and a hearing test. Among the majority group, orthopedic and dermatological consultations were utilized by 17.4% and 13% received an ENT consultation. Of the administered imaging, 13% received a chest X-ray, 8.7% received a limb X-ray, 17.4% received a head CT scan, and 4.3% received an abdominal CT. In addition, 21.7% were provided antibiotic therapy. Protocol efficacy was measured by assessing time to various operational aspects of protocol implementation and medical procedures such as mean hours to room assignment, primary physician evaluation and social worker session. No correlation between age and operational variables was found., Conclusion: This novel operational protocol was successfully implemented and may serve as a framework for managing similar unpredictable sensitive events in the case of future need., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Malnutrition is a prevalent and hard-to-treat condition in older adults. enteral feeding is common in acute and long-term care. Data regarding the prognosis of patients receiving enteral feeding in geriatric medical settings is lacking. Such data is important for decision-making and preliminary instructions for patients, caregivers, and physicians. This study aimed to evaluate the prognosis and risk factors for mortality among older adults admitted to a geriatric medical center receiving or starting enteral nutrition (EN)., Methods: A cohort retrospective study, conducted from 2019 to 2021. Patients admitted to our geriatric medical center who received EN were included. Data was collected from electronic medical records including demographic, clinical, and blood tests, duration of enteral feeding, Norton scale, and Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire score. Mortality was assessed during and after hospitalization. Data were compared between survivors and non-survivors. Multivariate logistic regressions were performed to identify the variables most significantly associated with in-hospital mortality., Results: Of 9169 patients admitted, 124 (1.35%) received enteral feeding tubes. More than half of the patients (50.8%) had polypharmacy (over 8 medications), 62% suffered from more than 10 chronic illnesses and the majority of patients (122/124) had a Norton scale under 14. Most of the patients had a nasogastric tube (NGT) (95/124) and 29 had percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomies (PEGs). Ninety patients (72%) died during the trial period with a median follow-up of 12.7 months (0.1-62.9 months) and one-year mortality was 16% (20/124). Associations to mortality were found for marital status, oxygen use, and Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW). Age and poly-morbidity were not associated with mortality., Conclusion: In patients receiving EN at a geriatric medical center mortality was lower than in a general hospital. The prognosis remained grim with high mortality rates and low quality of life. This data should aid decision-making and promote preliminary instructions., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Human parvovirus B19 (B19V) has a wide clinical spectrum, ranging from an asymptomatic infection to a life threatening one. During pregnancy, it can lead to fetal loss and hydrops fetalis. This retrospective study examined the incidence rates of B19V in Israel, analyzing anonymized electronic medical records of 2.7 million individuals between January 2015 and September 2023. A generalized linear model with a Poisson distribution was fit to the data, adjusting for potential confounders. A marked increase in B19V was observed in 2023, with an adjusted incidence rate ratio (IRR) of 6.6 (95% CI 6.33-6.89) when comparing 2023 to previous years. When specifically comparing 2023 to COVID-19 years (2020-2022), adjusted IRR climbs to 9.21 (8.66-9.80). Moreover, in 2023, previously existing seasonality has largely disappeared. High SES characterized most infected individuals with a marked discrepancy in social sectors; the Arab population was significantly less likely to be found B19V positive, even when adjusting for SES. Most infections occurred in school-aged children (6-11 years old). Pregnant women experienced the most significant rise in B19V, with an adjusted IRR of 11.47 (9.44-13.97) in 2023 compared to previous years; most cases were diagnosed in the first trimester. This study demonstrates that Israel is currently experiencing the largest and longest reported outbreak of B19V to date. Policymakers should consider setting screening policies in place, at least for populations at risk, while specifically studying and potentially targeting low socioeconomic populations and specific social sectors to avoid health inequalities.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has placed additional burden on already strained healthcare systems worldwide, intensifying the responsibility and burden of healthcare workers. Although most hospital staff continued working during this stressful and challenging unprecedented pandemic, differences in the characteristics and attributes were noted between sectors and hospital departments. Israeli healthcare workers are trained and experienced in coping with national emergencies, but the pandemic has exposed variations in staff reactions. Understanding the intrinsic differences between sectors and departments is a key factor in staff and hospital preparedness for unexpected events, better resource utilization for timely interventions to mitigate risk and improve staff wellbeing., Objective: To identify and compare the level of resilience, secondary traumatization and burnout among hospital workers, between different sectors and hospital departments, during the COVID-19 pandemic., Methods: Cross-sectional research to assess the resiliency, secondary traumatization and burnout of healthcare workers at a large general public hospital in central Israel. The sample consisted of 655 participants across various hospital units exposed to COVID-19 patients., Results: Emergency department physicians had higher rates of resilience and lower rates of burnout and secondary traumatization than staff in other hospital departments. In contrast, staff from internal medicine departments demonstrated the highest levels of burnout (4.29). Overall, physicians demonstrated higher levels of resilience (7.26) and lower levels of burnout compared to other workers., Conclusion: Identifying resilience characteristics across hospital staff, sectors and departments can guide hospital management in education, preparation and training of healthcare workers for future large-scale health emergencies such as pandemics, natural disasters, and war., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Trotzky, Aizik, Mosery, Carady, Tavori, Cohen, Pachys, Avraham, Levtzion-Korach and Tal.)

Introduction: The most common venomous snake in Israel, both in geographic spread and in number of snakebite incidents, is Daboia (Vipera) palaestinae. The clinical presentation of D. palaestinae envenomation varies and includes both local and systemic symptoms. Studies conducted on D. palaestinae revealed different amounts of venom in the snakes' glands in different seasons, however little is known regarding the potential impact of this finding on the clinical presentation after D. palaestinae bites during different seasons., Objective: To evaluate whether there is a difference in the severity of the clinical presentation of D. palaetinae bites in different seasons., Material and Methods: A retrospective chart review study including all patients diagnosed with D. palaestinae bites treated at Shamir Medical Center from 2006 through 2020. Patients were divided into two groups: early bite season - spring and early summer, and late bite season - late summer and autumn. Variables examined included demographic features, admission details and treatment administrated., Results: One hundred and seven D. palaestinae bite victims were included, forty-five were bitten during the early season and sixty-two during the late season. Four patients in the early season (8.9%) and one patient (1.6%) in the late season presented with decreased level of consciousness, and four patients, all from the early season group, required mechanical ventilation (p < 0.05) Vasopressors were used in six patients (13.3%) during the early season and two (3.2%) during the late season; (p = 0.06). There were no other differences between the groups, except for a lowest platelet count during hospitalization (mean 161.5 ± 51 K/μl during early season and 196.9 ± 77 K/μl during late season (p < 0.01)., Conclusions: D. palaestinae bite victims more often present as critically ill patients during the spring and early summer compared to late summer and autumn. Hospitals should be prepared with appropriate staff training and medications for treating such patients, especially during the early season. However, in general, D. palaestinae bites are as dangerous during the late season as they are during the early season, and all snake bite victims should be treated with a high index of suspicion regardless of the season., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aim: The emergency department (ED) is the first port-of-call for most patients receiving hospital care and as such acts as a gatekeeper to the wards, directing patient flow through the hospital. ED overcrowding is a well-researched field and negatively affects patient outcome, staff well-being and hospital reputation. An accurate, real-time model capable of predicting ED overcrowding has obvious merit in a world becoming increasingly computational, although the complicated dynamics of the department have hindered international efforts to design such a model. Triage nurses' assessments have been shown to be accurate predictors of patient disposition and could, therefore, be useful input for overcrowding and patient flow models., Methods: In this study, we assess the prediction capabilities of triage nurses in a level 1 urban hospital in central Israeli. ED settings included both acute and ambulatory wings. Nurses were asked to predict admission or discharge for each patient over a 3-month period as well as exact admission destination. Prediction confidence was used as an optimisation variable., Result: Triage nurses accurately predicted whether the patient would be admitted or discharged in 77% of patients in the acute wing, rising to 88% when their prediction certainty was high. Accuracies were higher still for patients in the ambulatory wing. In particular, negative predictive values for admission were highly accurate at 90%, irrespective of area or certainty levels., Conclusion: Nurses prediction of disposition should be considered for input for real-time ED models., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Introduction: Congestion in emergency departments [ED] is a significant challenge worldwide. Any delay in the timely and immediate medical care provided in the ED can affect patient morbidity and mortality. Our research analyzed the use of an innovative platform to improve patient navigation in the ED, as well as provide updated information about their care. Our hope is that this can improve ED efficiency and improve overall patient care., Objective: The primary objective of our study was to determine whether the use of an automatic push notification system can shorten 'length of stay' (LOS) in the ED, improve patient flow, and decrease ED patient load., Methods: This was a prospective cohort study utilizing data extrapolated from the electronic medical records of 2972 patients who visited the walk-in ED of a large-scale central hospital in Israel from January 17, 2021 to March 15, 2021. During this period, the automatic push text notification system was activated on a week-on week-off basis. We compared data from our experimental group with the control group., Results: The results of this study indicate that the use of an automatic push notification system had a minimal impact on specific parameters of ED patient flow. Apart from a few significant reductions of specific timed-intervals during patients' ED visit, the majority of results were not statistically significant., Conclusion: This study concluded that the anticipated benefits of a push text notification system in the ED do not, at this stage, justify the system's additional cost. We recommend a follow-up study to further investigate other possible benefits., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Abstract: Overcrowding in the emergency departments (ED) is a significant issue associated with increased morbidity and mortality rates as well as decreased patient satisfaction. Length of stay (LOS) is both a cause and a result of overcrowding. In Israel, as there are few emergency medicine (EM) physicians, the ED team is supplemented with doctors from specialties including internal medicine, general surgery, orthopedics etc. Here we compare ED length of stay (ED-LOS), treatment time and decision time between EM physicians, internists and general surgeons.A retrospective cohort study was conducted examining the Emergency Department length of stay (ED-LOS) for all adult patients attending Sheba Medical Center ED, Israel, between January 1st, and December 31st, 2014. Using electronic medical records, data was gathered on patient age, sex, primary ED physician, diagnosis, eventual disposition, treatment time and disposition decision time. The primary outcome variable was ED-LOS relative to case physician specialty and level (ED, internal medicine or surgery; specialist or resident). Secondary analysis was conducted on time to treatment/ decision as well as ED-LOS relative to patient classification variables (internal medicine vs surgical diagnosis). Specialists were compared to specialists and residents to residents for all outcomes.Residents and specialists in either EM, internal medicine or general surgery attended 57,486 (51.50%) of 111,630 visits to Sheba Hospital's general ED. Mean ED-LOS was 4.12 ± 3.18 hours. Mean treatment time and decision time were 1.79 ± 1.82 hours, 2.84 ± 2.17 hours respectively. Amongst specialists, ED-LOS was shorter for EM physicians than for internal medicine physicians (mean difference 0.28 hours, 95% CI 0.14-0.43) and general surgeons (mean difference 0.63 hours, 95% CI 0.43-0.83). There was no statistical significance between residents when comparing outcomes.Increasing the number of EM specialists in the ED may support efforts to decrease ED-LOS, overcrowding and medical errors whilst increasing patient satisfaction and outcomes., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding or conflicts of interests to disclose., (Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Ventricular free wall rupture is a rare post myocardial complication with a high associated mortality. In this article we discuss the case of an elderly patient who presented to our emergency department in shock after an episode of syncope. Using Point Of Care Ultrasound (POCUS), identification of cardiac tamponade and pericardial thrombus was possible, signs indicating a diagnosis of free wall rupture. Early initiation of transfer proceedings to a tertiary cardio-thoracic unit was therefore possible, resulting in a positive patient outcome., Competing Interests: The authors have no commercial associations or sources of support that might pose a conflict of interest., (© 2021 Australasian Society for Ultrasound in Medicine.)

Background: Emergency department (ED) overcrowding is associated with worse patient outcomes., Objectives: To determine whether physician assistants (PAs), fairly recently integrated into the Israeli healthcare system, improve patient outcomes and ED timings., Methods: We compared patients seen by physicians with patients seen by PAs and then by physicians between January and December 2018 using propensity matching. Patients were matched for age, gender, triage level, and decision to hospitalize. Primary endpoints included patient mortality, re-admittance. and leaving on own accord rates. Secondary endpoints were ED timing landmarks., Results: Patients first seen by PAs were less likely to leave on their own accord (MD1 1.5%, PA 1.0%, P = 0.015), had lower rates of readmission within 48 hours (MD1 2.1%, PA 1.5%, P= 0.028), and were quicker to be seen, to have medications prescribed, and to undergo imaging without differences in timings until decisions were made or total length of stay. Patients seen by a physician with the assistance of a PA were attended to quicker (MD2 47.79 minutes, range 27.70-78.82 vs. MD + PA 30.59 minutes, range 15.77-54.85; P < 0.001) without statistically significant differences in primary outcomes. Mortality rates were similar for all comparisons., Conclusions: Patients first seen by PAs had lower rates of re-admittance or leaving on their own accord and enjoyed shorter waiting times. Pending proper integration into healthcare teams, PAs can further improve outcomes in EDs and patient satisfaction.

The clinical diagnosis of acute infections in the emergency department is a challenging task due to the similarity in symptom presentation between virally and bacterially infected individuals, while the use of routine laboratory tests for pathogen identification is often time-consuming and may contain contaminants. We investigated the ability of various anemia-related parameters, including hemoglobin, red cell distribution width (RDW), and iron, to differentiate between viral and bacterial infection in a retrospective study of 3883 patients admitted to the emergency department with a confirmed viral (n = 1238) or bacterial (n = 2645) infection based on either laboratory tests or microbiological cultures. The ratio between hemoglobin to RDW was found to be significant in distinguishing between virally and bacterially infected patients and outperformed other anemia measurements. Moreover, the predictive value of the ratio was high even in patients presenting with low C-reactive protein values (< 21 mg/L). We followed the dynamics of hemoglobin, RDW, and the ratio between them up to 72 h post emergency department admission, and observed a consistent discrepancy between virally and bacterially infected patients over time. Additional analysis demonstrated higher levels of ferritin and lower levels of iron in bacterially infected compared with virally infected patients. The anemia measurements were associated with length of hospital stay, where all higher levels, except for RDW, corresponded to a shorter hospitalization period. We highlighted the importance of various anemia measurements as an additional host-biomarker to discern virally from bacterially infected patients.

The presentation of septic patients with low C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations to the emergency room (ER) might convey an erroneous impression regarding the severity of the disease.We analyzed a retrospective study of septic patients admitted to the internal medicine departments of a relatively large tertiary medical center, following admission to the ER. These patients had CRP concentrations of <31.9 mg/L, the determined cut-off for CRP concentrations in a large cohort of apparently healthy individuals in the community (n = 17,214, upper limit of mean + 3 standard deviations).By processing the electronic medical records, we found 2724 patients with a diagnosis of sepsis, 476 of whom had an admission CRP concentration of <31.9 mg/L. Following further analysis of these records, we found that 34 of the 175 patients (19.4%) who fulfilled the definition of sepsis, died within 1 week of hospitalization. Of special interest was the finding that within <24 h, a significant increment from a median CRP of 16.1 mg/L (IQR 7.9-22.5) to 58.6 mg/L (IQR 24.2-134.4), (P < .001) was noted, accompanied by a velocity change from 0.4 ± 0.29 to 8.3 ± 24.2 mg/L/h following antibiotic administration (P < .001).ER physicians should take into consideration that septic patients with a high in-hospital mortality rate can present with CRP concentrations that are within the range observed in apparently healthy individuals in the community. A second CRP test obtained within 24 h following antibiotic administration might influence attitudes regarding the severity of the disease.