Telemedicine in the emergency department to decrease personal protective equipment use: a before-and-after study.
Emerg Med J
; 38(3): 224-228, 2021 Mar.
Artigo
em Inglês
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-999277
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Personal protective equipment (PPE) used by healthcare workers was scarce during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess whether telemedicine (using iPads) reduced PPE use in emergency department (ED) patients who were treated in contact isolation, and whether telemedicine had a positive effect on patient anxiety and satisfaction.METHODS:
We conducted a prospective single centre before-and-after study including ED patients ≥18 years who were treated in contact isolation. PPE use, the Hospital Anxiety Scale and the 15-item Picker Patient Experience Questionnaire were compared between the control period (8 April to 14 April 2020) and intervention period (15 April to 24 April 2020).RESULTS:
We included 25 patients in each period. PPE use per patient was higher for physicians in the control period (mean 1.7; 95% CI 1.5 to 1.9) compared with the intervention period (mean 1.2; 95% CI 1.0 to 1.3, p<0.01). Total PPE use per patient contact for ED physicians decreased from 42 out of 42 patient contacts in the control period, to 29 out of 66 patient contacts in the intervention period (difference 54.3%; 95% CI 50.1% to 58.6%, p<0.01). Reported anxiety and satisfaction were not significantly different.CONCLUSION:
PPE use by physicians can successfully be reduced by using telemedicine in the ED without increasing anxiety or dissatisfaction. This study was a first step to gain experience with telemedicine in the ED which has the potential to reduce PPE use in future pandemics or other patients with an indication for contact isolation.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
Disponível
Coleções:
Bases de dados internacionais
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Satisfação do Paciente
/
Telemedicina
/
Transmissão de Doença Infecciosa do Paciente para o Profissional
/
Serviço Hospitalar de Emergência
/
Equipamento de Proteção Individual
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Tipo de estudo:
Estudo de coorte
/
Estudo experimental
/
Estudo observacional
/
Estudo prognóstico
/
Ensaios controlados aleatorizados
Limite:
Feminino
/
Humanos
/
Masculino
/
Meia-Idade
País/Região como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
Inglês
Revista:
Emerg Med J
Assunto da revista:
Medicina de Emergência
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Artigo
País de afiliação:
Emermed-2020-210292
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