The Impact of Prescription Time Limits on Phosphate Administration in the Intensive Care Unit: A Before-After Quality Improvement Study.

(1) Background: We aim to examine and improve phosphate prescribing as part of a quality assurance program by examining the change in the proportion of patients receiving phosphate with normal or high preceding serum phosphate concentrations before and after the introduction of the 24 h time limit to default phosphate prescription. (2) Methods: This was a quality assurance study conducted across three Australian adult intensive care units (ICUs). All adult patients with ICU lengths of stay greater than or equal to 48 h who had their serum phosphate concentrations measured were included. A 24 h time limit was introduced to the protocolised prescription in the electronic clinical information system for enteral and intravenous phosphate at participating ICUs. Patient characteristics, phosphate administration, and outcomes were compared before and after this time limit was introduced. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients to whom phosphate was prescribed after measurement of a normal or high serum phosphate level. Secondary outcomes were ICU length of stay, mortality, and discharge destination. (3) Results: A total of 1192 patients were included from three ICUs over the two periods. The proportion of patients with a normal or high measured phosphate level who then received phosphate supplementation was significantly lower in the second study period (30.3% vs. 9.9%; p < 0.001). This difference persisted when adjusted for potential confounders in a mixed-effects logistic regression model (an adjusted odds ratio for receiving phosphate with normal or high serum concentration 0.214, 95% confidence interval of 0.132-0.347; p < 0.001). No significant difference was seen in the typical ICU length of stay, in-hospital case-fatality rate, and hospital discharge destination between these groups. (4) Conclusions: This multicentre before-after study has demonstrated that the introduction of a 24 h limit on electronic phosphate prescriptions resulted in significantly fewer patients receiving phosphate when their serum phosphate concentration was normal or high, without any adverse impact on patient outcomes.

Predicting aggressive patient behaviour in a hospital emergency department: An empirical study of security officers using the Brøset Violence Checklist.

INTRODUCTION: The Brøset Violence Checklist (BVC) is a six item checklist that rates patients according to their risk of violence in the subsequent 24h - a score of ?3 indicates a "high risk" of violence. This study is the first to evaluate the statistical utility of the BVC when administered by a security officer in a hospital emergency department (ED). METHOD: A healthcare security officer conducted BVC assessments on patients who presented to the ED of a public hospital in metropolitan South East Queensland, Australia, over a two month period. Violent/aggressive acts requiring security intervention were registered in a database. RESULTS: 2064 ED patients were assessed on the BVC and 35 patients committed a violent/aggressive act (1.7%). BVC sensitivity was 45.7% and specificity 99.4%. At a cut-off score of BVC3, the positive predictive value was 55.2%. Violent patients were around 71 times more likely to score BVC?3 than non-violent patients. CONCLUSIONS: The BVC has good sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value in this setting. Using the BVC may help to implement measures that mitigate the impact of violent patients in the ED, or ideally, implement procedures that prevent violence towards ED workers in the first place.

The intergenerational transmission of at-risk/problem gambling: The moderating role of parenting practices.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although parenting practices are articulated as underlying mechanisms or protective factors in several theoretical models, their role in the intergenerational transmission of gambling problems has received limited research attention. This study therefore examined the degree to which parenting practices (positive parenting, parental involvement, and inconsistent discipline) moderated the intergenerational transmission of paternal and maternal problem gambling. METHODS: Students aged 12-18 years (N = 612) recruited from 17 Australian secondary schools completed a survey measuring parental problem gambling, problem gambling severity, and parenting practices. RESULTS: Participants endorsing paternal problem gambling (23.3%) were 4.3 times more likely to be classified as at-risk/problem gamblers than their peers (5.4%). Participants endorsing maternal problem gambling (6.9%) were no more likely than their peers (4.0%) to be classified as at-risk/problem gamblers. Paternal problem gambling was a significant predictor of offspring at-risk/problem gambling after controlling for maternal problem gambling and participant demographic characteristics. The relationship between maternal problem gambling and offspring at-risk/problem gambling was buffered by parental involvement. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Paternal problem gambling may be important in the development of adolescent at-risk/problem gambling behaviours and higher levels of parental involvement buffers the influence of maternal problem gambling in the development of offspring gambling problems. Further research is therefore required to identify factors that attenuate the seemingly greater risk of transmission associated with paternal gambling problems. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: Parental involvement is a potential candidate for prevention and intervention efforts designed to reduce the intergenerational transmission of gambling problems. (Am J Addict 2017;26:707-712).

Verbal abuse and physical assault in the emergency department: Rates of violence, perceptions of safety, and attitudes towards security.

INTRODUCTION: Emergency Department (ED) workers are prone to occupational violence, however the extent and impact of this may not be evenly felt across all roles in the ED. AIMS: Explore: 1) the rate of verbal abuse and physical assaults experienced by ED staff, 2) perceptions of safety, 3) attitudes towards security officers, and 4) formal reporting of incidents. METHODS: 330 ED workers were surveyed at four public hospitals in one metropolitan health service district in Queensland, Australia, including 179 nurses, 83 medical staff, 44 administration staff, 14 allied health, and 9 operational. RESULTS: Nurses were more likely to have been physically assaulted in the last six months and were less likely to feel safe. Most ED staff across all roles experienced verbal abuse. Nurses were better than medical staff at reporting instances of occupational violence although overall reporting across all roles was low. Staff who thought that security officers respond to incidents quickly and are a visible presence in the ED were more likely to feel safe in the ED. CONCLUSIONS: Workers in the ED, particularly nurses, experience high rates of verbal abuse and physical aggression and there may be a case for having designated security guards in the ED.