An adapted emergency department triage algorithm for the COVID-19 pandemic.

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, with its public health implications, high case fatality rate, and strain on hospital resources, will continue to challenge clinicians and researchers alike for months to come. Accurate triage of patients during the pandemic will assign patients to the appropriate level of care, provide the best care for the maximum number of patients, rationally limit personal protective equipment (PPE) usage, and mitigate nosocomial exposures. The authors describe an adapted COVID-19 pandemic triage algorithm for emergency departments (EDs) guided by the best available evidence and responses to prior pandemics, with recommendations for clinician PPE use for each level of encounter in the setting of an ongoing PPE shortage. Our algorithm adheres to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and supports discharge of patients with mild symptoms coupled with explicit and strict return precautions and infection control education.

Point-of-care ultrasound in resource-limited settings: the PURLS fellowship.

BACKGROUND: The role of point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) is rapidly expanding in both resource-rich and resource-limited settings (RLS). One limitation to this rapid expansion has been the lack of educators adequately trained to teach this user-dependent skill. This is particularly true in RLS, where disease presentations, infrastructure limitations, and approach to medical education present unique challenges to the direct application of resource-rich emergency department POCUS curricula. OBJECTIVES: We describe the point-of-care ultrasound in resource-limited settings (PURLS) fellowship, a novel curriculum designed to provide advanced training and expertise in clinical care and POCUS application and education in RLS. CONCLUSION: Our curriculum design is one approach to create context-specific POCUS education for use in RLS, thereby improving patient care.

Sexual temptation: substance abuse, no sex, safe sex, risky sex, and STDs.

Background University students' substance abuse and risky sex contribute to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Purpose We develop and empirically test a formative theoretical model of sexual temptation involving substance abuse (cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana), safe sexual behavior (use of condom/barrier for oral and vaginal intercourse), risky sexual behavior (unprotected sex and multiple sexual partners), and STDs: gonorrhea, HIV, and genital herpes. We simultaneously explore these constructs, controlling membership in social groups (fraternity/sorority, varsity athlete, and club sports) and perceived norm of substance abuse. Methods A total of 687 American university students completed the National College Health Assessment (NCHA). We use structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the goodness of fit between our formative theoretical model and actual data. Results Results reveal the following discoveries: membership in campus social groups is positively associated with STDs, whereas perceived norm of peer substance abuse is negatively related to STDs. Under the influence of substance abuse, we test three outcomes of sexual temptation as related to STDs. Those who have no sex do not contract STDs. For those who fall into temptation and have sex, substance abuse is more strongly related to risky sex which leads to STDs than safe sex which does not. Those engaging in risky sex have significantly higher cognitive impairment than those practicing safe sex. Conclusions Substance abuse contributes to STDs through risky sex only. Those having risky sex suffer higher cognitive impairment than those practicing safe sex. We provide novel implications to policy makers, practitioners, and researchers.