International Emergency Nursing
Volume 16, Issue 2 , Pages 94-100 , April 2008

Low acuity abdominal pain in the Emergency Department: Still a long wait

  • Geraldine Lee, PGDE, BSc, RGN (Lecturer, Nurse Practitioner Coordinator)

      Affiliations

    • School of Nursing and Midwifery, Latrobe University, Bundoora, Melbourne, Victoria 3086, Australia
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +61 3 9076 3933; fax: +61 3 9076 3938.
  • ,
  • Sarah Smith, PG Cert Emergency Nursing, BN (Staff Nurse)

      Affiliations

    • Emergency Department, Maroondah Hospital, Davey Drive, Maroondah East, Melbourne, Victoria 3135, Australia
  • ,
  • Natahsa Jennings, RN, NP, BN, Grad Dip Adv Clin Nurs, MN (Emergency Nurse Practitioner)

      Affiliations

    • The Alfred Emergency and Trauma Centre, Commercial Road, Prahran, Victoria 3004, Australia

Received 9 September 2007 ,Revised 14 January 2008 ,Accepted 21 January 2008.

References 

  1. Australian College of Emergency Medicine, 2006. Policy document – Triage categories. <http://www:acem.org.au/open/documents/triage.htm> (accessed 14.10.06).
  2. Blank F, Mader T, Wolfe J, Keyes M, Krischner R, Provost D. Adequacy of pain assessment and pain relief and correlation of patient satisfaction in 68 ED fast-track patients. Journal of Emergency Nursing. 2001;27(4):327–334
  3. Campbell P, Dennie M, Dougherty K, Iwaskiw O. Implementation of an ED protocol for pain management at triage at a busy level I trauma center. Journal of Emergency Nursing. 2004;30(5):431–438
  4. Combs S, Chapman R, Bushby A. Evaluation of fast track. Accident and Emergency Nursing. 2007;15:40–47
  5. Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services, Coopers and Lybrand Consultants, 1997. Development of Agreed Set of National Access Performance Indicators for: Elective Surgery, Emergency Departments and Outpatient Services. Commonwealth Department of Health, Canberra.
  6. Darrab A, Fan J, Fernandes C, Zimmerman R, Smith R, Worster A, et al. How does fast track affect quality of care in the emergency department?. European Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2006;13(1):32–35
  7. Department of Human Services, 2006. The state of our public hospital June 2006 report. <http://www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/Content/health-ahca-sooph-index06.htm> (accessed 11.10.06).
  8. Dubuque P. Increased patients plus increased space equals increased challenges. Topics In Emergency Medicine. 2005;27(3):223–227
  9. Hadley N. Triage meeting the needs of today in a busy ED. Topics in Emergency Medicine. 2005;27(3):217–222
  10. Halder SLS, McBeth J, Silman AJ, Thompson DG, Macfarlane GJ. Psychosocial risk factors for the onset of abdominal pain. Results from a large prospective population-based study. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2002;31:1219–1225
  11. Jennings N, O’Reilly G, Lee G, Cameron P, Free B. Implementing the Emergency Nurse Practitioner into a major inner city trauma centre. A new model of care delivery for patients in the ED setting. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 2008;17(8):
  12. Lee G, Jennings N. A comparative study on characteristics of did not wait patients versus those that were seen by the nurse practitioner. Australasian Journal of Emergency Nursing. 2006;9:179–185
  13. Lee G, Endacott R, Flett K, Bushnell R. Characteristics of patients who did not wait for treatment in the Emergency Department: a follow up survey. Accident & Emergency Nursing. 2006;14:56–62
  14. Rodi S, Grau M, Orsini C. Evaluation of a fast track unit: alignment of resources and demand results in improved satisfaction and decreased length of stay for Emergency Department patients. Quality Management in Health Care. 2006;15(3):163–170
  15. Shabbir J, Ridgway PF, Lynch K, Law C, Er ED, O’Mahony JB, et al. Administration of analgesia for acute abdominal pain sufferers in the accident and emergency setting. European Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2004;11(6):309–312

PII: S1755-599X(08)00009-8

doi: 10.1016/j.ienj.2008.01.006

International Emergency Nursing
Volume 16, Issue 2 , Pages 94-100 , April 2008