SAFETYLIT WEEKLY UPDATE

We compile citations and summaries of about 400 new articles every week.
RSS Feed

HELP: Tutorials | FAQ
CONTACT US: Contact info

Search Results

Journal Article

Citation

Masters T, Willenbring B, Westgard B, Cole J, Hendriksen S, Walter J, Logue C, Olives T. West. J. Emerg. Med. 2019; 20(3): 506-511.

Affiliation

Hennepin Healthcare, Department of Emergency Medicine, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, California Chapter of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine)

DOI

10.5811/westjem.2019.2.41428

PMID

31123553

PMCID

PMC6526886

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to assess the ability to test patients for carbon monoxide (CO) exposure in all hospitals in three United States (U.S.) Midwestern states.

METHODS: We surveyed hospitals in three states. Telephone queries assessed processes for measuring carboxyhemoglobin, including capacity for real-time vs send-out testing. Facilities were separated based on their location's population size for further analysis. Descriptive statistics are reported.

RESULTS: Of the 250 hospitals queried, we ultimately excluded 25. Nearly all (220, 97.8%) reported a process in place to test for CO exposure. Over 40% (n=92) lacked real-time testing. Testing ability was positively associated with increasing population size quartile (range 32.6% - 100%). Hospitals in the lowest-quartile population centers were more likely to report that they were unable to test in real time than those in the largest-quartile population centers (67.4% vs 0%).

CONCLUSION: In a large geographic region encompassing three states, hospital-based and real-time capacity to test for CO exposure is not universal. Hospitals in smaller population areas are more likely to lack real-time testing or any testing at all. This may have significant public health, triage, and referral implications for patients.


Language: en

NEW SEARCH


All SafetyLit records are available for automatic download to Zotero & Mendeley
Print