Clinical review: Emergency department overcrowding and the potential impact on the critically ill.
Critical CarePublished 1 January 2005Open access
Robert M. Cowan, Stephen Trzeciak
Citations252
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score2.74
SNIP2.64
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TL;DR
The causes and effects ofED overcrowding are described; the potential impact that ED overcrowding has on care of the critically ill ED patient is explored; and possible solutions are identified, focusing on ED based critical care.
Abstract
Critical care constitutes a significant and growing proportion of the practice of emergency medicine. Emergency department (ED) overcrowding in the USA represents an emerging threat to patient safety and could have a significant impact on the critically ill. This review describes the causes and effects of ED overcrowding; explores the potential impact that ED overcrowding has on care of the critically ill ED patient; and identifies possible solutions, focusing on ED based critical care.
Keywords
Medicine
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