P025: Are we ready for a gunman in the emergency department? A qualitative study of staff perceptions of risk and readiness to respond

Introduction: Hospital-based gun violence is devastatingly traumatic for everyone present and recent events in Cobourg, Ontario underscore that an active shooter inside the emergency department (ED) is an imminent threat. In June 2016, the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) added Code Silver to the list of standardized emergency preparedness colour codes and advised member hospitals to develop policies and train staff on how best to respond. Given that EDs are particularly susceptible to opportunistic breach by an active shooter, the impact of a Code Silver on ED functioning and staff members may be particularly acute. We hypothesized that there may not be a simple, one-size-fits-all-hospital-staff solution about how best to prepare EDs to respond to Code Silver. In order to inform and support future staff training initiatives related to Code Silver and other disaster situations in hospitals, we sought to investigate staff perspectives and behaviour related to personal safety at work and, in particular, an active shooter. Methods: We undertook a qualitative interview study of multi-disciplinary ED staff (MDs, RNs, clericals, allied health, administrators) at a single tertiary care centre in Toronto. The primary methods for data collection were in-depth qualitative interviews and focus groups. Participants were recruited using stakeholder and maximum variation sampling strategies. Data collection and analysis were concurrent and standard thematic analysis techniques were employed. Results: Sixteen (16) staff members participated in interviews and 40 participated in small focus group discussions. Data analysis revealed workplace violence and personal health risks have been normalized as expected, acceptable features of everyday life at work in the ED given that patients are perceived to be sick people in need of help that ED staff are trained for and prepared to provide. In contrast, weapons and active shooters challenge the boundaries of professional responsibility and readiness to respond to Code Silver is perceived by staff as a fallacy. Conclusion: Knowledge from this study gives us crucial insight into important areas for targeted training and opportunities for knowledge translation on the topic of implementing Code Silver in EDs across the country. Future interventions must include how to overcome normalization of workplace violence in the ED setting and negotiating competing professional obligations during crisis situations. Attention to these are crucial if we are to truly keep our staff safe during these traumatic events.

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P042: Are we ready for a gunman in the emergency department? A qualitative study of staff perceptions of personal health risks, workplace safety, and individual and institutional readiness to respond to “code silver”

CJEM ◽

10.1017/cem.2017.244 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 19 (S1) ◽

pp. S92

Author(s):

K. Dainty ◽

M. Seaton ◽

M. McGowan ◽

S.H. Gray

Keyword(s):

Data Analysis ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Workplace Safety ◽

Hospital Staff ◽

Personal Health ◽

Active Shooter ◽

Tertiary Care Centre ◽

Staff Members ◽

The Impact

Introduction: Hospital-based gun violence is devastatingly traumatic for everyone present and quite tragically on the rise. The Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) has recently designated active shooter situations as “Code Silver” and advised member hospitals to develop policies and train health care workers on how best to respond. Given that emergency departments (ED) are particularly susceptible to opportunistic breach by an active shooter and staff members are likely to be called upon as first responders, the impact of a Code Silver on ED functioning and staff members may be particularly severe. We hypothesized that there may not be a simple, one-size-fits-all-hospital-staff solution about how best to prepare ED physicians and staff to respond to a Code Silver situation. Methods: In order to inform and support future staff training initiatives related to Code Silver and other disaster situations in hospitals, we conducted a robust qualitative study to investigate perspectives and behaviour related to personal safety at work and Code Silver in particular among the multi-disciplinary ED staff at a single tertiary care centre in Toronto, Ontario. Participants for in-depth interviews and focus groups were recruited using a combination of stakeholder and maximum variation sampling strategies. Data analysis occurred in conjunction with data collection and standard thematic analysis techniques were employed. Results: Initial data analysis has revealed the following thematic concepts: the ubiquitous banality of personal health risk as an expected, acceptable feature of everyday life at work for ED staff, the perception of active shooters as a transgressive threat that violates the boundaries of professional responsibility, and the perceived fallacy of “readiness” to respond to disastrous situations. A fulsome analysis will be ready for presentation in June. Conclusion: Knowledge from this study indicates that ED staff members have unique and specific training needs in relation to an active shooter situation, and gives us deeper insight into potential areas of focus for training and opportunities for knowledge translation on the topic of Code Silver for EDs across the country.

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P107: Understanding the sensory experience of performing a rare, high-stakes clinical procedure: a qualitative study of clinicians with lived experience

CJEM ◽

10.1017/cem.2019.298 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (S1) ◽

pp. S102-S103

Author(s):

J. Riggs ◽

M. McGowan ◽

C. Hicks

Keyword(s):

Clinical Practice ◽

Data Collection ◽

Lived Experience ◽

Skill Acquisition ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Mental Practice ◽

Tertiary Care Centre ◽

High Stakes ◽

Qualitative Interview Study

Introduction: Emergency physicians (EP) are expected to be competent in a variety of uncommon but life-saving procedures, including the bougie assisted cricothyrotomy (BAC). Given the rarity and high-stakes nature of the BAC, simulation is often used as the primary learning and training modality. However, mental practice (MP), defined as the “cognitive rehearsal of a skill in the absence of overt physical movement”, has been shown to be as effective as physical practice in several areas, including athletics, music, team-based resuscitation and surgical skill acquisition. MP scripts incorporate cues from different sensory modalities to supplement instructions of how to complete the skill. We sought to explore EPs perspectives on the kinesthetic, visual and cognitive aspects of performing a BAC to inform the development of a MP BAC script. Methods: We undertook a qualitative interview study of EPs at a single tertiary care centre who had done a BAC in clinical practice. Participants were recruited using purposive sampling. The primary method for data collection was in-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews, which were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data collection and analysis were concurrent; transcripts were coded independently by two researchers using qualitative content analysis on a coding framework based on the previously developed BAC checklist. At each procedural step, the kinesthetic, visual and cognitive cues that enhance MP were identified. Results: Eight EPs (5 staff; 3 Royal College residents) participated in the interviews. All participants had completed at least one BAC in their clinical practice. Data analysis revealed recurrent themes signifying successful completion of each procedural step. These include visual (ie. seeing a spray of blood upon entry into the airway) and kinesthetic (ie. feel of the tracheal rings on a finger) cues that describe aspects of the procedure not found in traditional teaching modalities, such as textbooks. Conclusion: Knowledge gleaned from the interviews of EPs with lived experience gives us a deeper insight into the sensory aspects of performing a BAC in clinical practice. We expect that using these experientially derived cues to inform the development of a MP script will increase its validity and applicability to learners and for skill maintenance. Future work includes evaluating the utility of the developed script in acquiring and maintaining competence performing the BAC.

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Pediatric emergency department utilisation during Ramadan: a retrospective cross-sectional study

Archives of Disease in Childhood ◽

10.1136/archdischild-2020-319173 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. archdischild-2020-319173

Author(s):

Rasha D Sawaya ◽

Cynthia Wakil ◽

Sami Shayya ◽

Moustafa Al Hariri ◽

Alik Dakessian ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emergency Department ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Pediatric Emergency ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Peak Time ◽

Work Efficiency ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Tertiary Care Centre ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Impact

ObjectiveTo investigate the impact of Ramadan on patient characteristics, diagnoses and metrics in the paediatric emergency department (PED).DesignRetrospective cross-sectional study.SettingPED of a tertiary care centre in Lebanon.PatientsAll paediatric patients.ExposureRamadan (June 2016 and 2017) versus the months before and after Ramadan (non-Ramadan).Main outcome measuresPatient and illness characteristics and PED metrics including peak patient load; presentation timings; length of stay; and times to order tests, receive samples and report results.ResultsWe included 5711 patients with mean age of 6.1±5.3 years and 55.4% males. The number of daily visits was 28.3±6.5 during Ramadan versus 31.5±7.3 during non-Ramadan (p=0.004). The peak time of visits ranged from 18:00 to 22:00 during non-Ramadan versus from 22:00 to 02:00 during Ramadan. During Ramadan, there were significantly more gastrointestinal (GI) and trauma-related complaints (39.0% vs 35.4%, p=0.01 and 2.9% vs 1.8%, p=0.005). The Ramadan group had faster work efficiency measures such as times to order tests (21.1±21.3 vs 24.3±28.1 min, p<0.0001) and to collect samples (50.7±44.5 vs 54.8±42.6 min, p=0.03).ConclusionsRamadan changes presentation patterns, with fewer daily visits and a later peak time of visits. Ramadan also affects illness presentation patterns with more GI and trauma cases. Fasting times during Ramadan did not affect staff work efficiency. These findings could help EDs structure their staffing to optimise resource allocation during Ramadan.

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Identification of processes that mediate the impact of workplace violence on emergency department healthcare workers in the USA: results from a qualitative study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2019-031781 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. e031781 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marie C Vrablik ◽

Anne K Chipman ◽

Elizabeth D Rosenman ◽

Nancy J Simcox ◽

Ly Huynh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emergency Department ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Workplace Violence ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Cognitive Appraisals ◽

Well Being ◽

Phenomenological Approach ◽

Qualitative Interview Study ◽

The Impact

ObjectivesViolence towards emergency department healthcare workers is pervasive and directly linked to provider wellness, productivity and job satisfaction. This qualitative study aimed to identify the cognitive and behavioural processes impacted by workplace violence to further understand why workplace violence has a variable impact on individual healthcare workers.DesignQualitative interview study using a phenomenological approach to initial content analysis and secondary thematic analysis.SettingThree different emergency departments.ParticipantsWe recruited 23 emergency department healthcare workers who experienced a workplace violence event to participate in an interview conducted within 24 hours of the event. Participants included nurses (n=9; 39%), medical assistants (n=5; 22%), security guards (n=5; 22%), attending physicians (n=2; 9%), advanced practitioners (n=1; 4%) and social workers (n=1; 4%).ResultsFive themes emerged from the data. The first two supported existing reports that workplace violence in healthcare is pervasive and contributes to burn-out in healthcare. Three novel themes emerged from the data related to the objectives of this study: (1) variability in primary cognitive appraisals of workplace violence, (2) variability in secondary cognitive appraisals of workplace violence and (3) reported use of both avoidant and approach coping mechanisms.ConclusionHealthcare workers identified workplace violence as pervasive. Variability in reported cognitive appraisal and coping strategies may partially explain why workplace violence negatively impacts some healthcare workers more than others. These cognitive and behavioural processes could serve as targets for decreasing the negative effect of workplace violence, thereby improving healthcare worker well-being. Further research is needed to develop interventions that mitigate the negative impact of workplace violence.

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Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on stroke admissions in Qatar

BMJ Neurology Open ◽

10.1136/bmjno-2020-000084 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. e000084

Author(s):

Naveed Akhtar ◽

Salman Al Jerdi ◽

Ziyad Mahfoud ◽

Yahia Imam ◽

Saadat Kamran ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hospital Admissions ◽

Small Vessel Disease ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Relative Increase ◽

Large Vessel ◽

Tertiary Care Centre ◽

Transient Ischaemic Attacks ◽

Stroke Mimics ◽

Coronary Syndromes ◽

The Impact

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a dramatic unexplained decline in hospital admissions due to acute coronary syndromes and stroke. Several theories have emerged aiming to explain this decline, mostly revolving around the fear of contracting the disease and thus avoiding hospital visits.AimsIn this study, we aim to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on stroke admissions to a tertiary care centre in Qatar.MethodsThe Hamad General Hospital stroke database was interrogated for stroke admissions between September 2019 and May 2020. The number of stroke admissions, stroke subtypes and short-term outcomes was compared between the ‘pre-COVID-19’ period (September 2019 to February 2020) and the COVID-19 pandemic period (March to May 2020).ResultsWe observed a significant decline in monthly admissions in March (157), April (128) and May (135) compared with the pre-COVID-19 6-month average (229) (p=0.024). The reduction in admissions was most evident in functional stroke mimics. The average admissions decreased from 87 to 34 per month (p=0.0001). Although there were no significant differences in admissions due to ischaemic stroke (IS), intracranial haemorrhage or transient ischaemic attacks between the two periods, we noted a relative decrease in IS due to small vessel disease and an increase in those due to large vessel atherosclerosis in March to May 2020.ConclusionsThe decline in overall stroke admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic is most likely related to concerns of contracting the infection, evidenced mainly by a decline in admissions of stroke mimics. However, a relative increase in large vessel occlusions raises suspicion of pathophysiological effects of the virus, and requires further investigation.

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A Study on Shock Index in Early Diagnosis of Sepsis in Emergency Department of Tertiary Care Centre of Nepal

Nepal Medical Journal ◽

10.37080/nmj.68 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 37-42

Author(s):

Manish Nath Pant ◽

Subash Dawadi ◽

Ashish Thapa

Keyword(s):

Emergency Department ◽

Heart Rate ◽

Severe Sepsis ◽

Early Diagnosis ◽

Blood Lactate ◽

Lactate Level ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Serum Lactate ◽

Shock Index ◽

Tertiary Care Centre

Introduction: Sepsis and its consequences, severe sepsis and septic shock is at menace in country like ours where infectious disease are at toll. Early diagnosis and treatment is very important to decrease the morbidity and mortality. Shock index is one of such tool that is very handy in these situations as this is just a mathematical calculation using heart rate(HR) and systolic blood pressure(SBP). The main aim of this study was to find the effectiveness of using SI as an adjunct to blood lactate in diagnosing patients in sepsis. Methods: This was an observational hospital-based study conducted at Emergency Department of TUTH, Maharajgunj on 104 patients, obtained by purposive sampling method, who had presented to the “Red Area”, aged between 18 to 65 years. These patients were screened for severe sepsis using triage vital signs, basic laboratory tests and an initial serum lactate level. Test characteristics were calculated for hyperlactatemia. I considered the following covariates in our analysis: heart rate >90 beats/min; mean arterial pressure <65 mmHg; respiratory rate > 20 breaths/min; ≥2 SIRS including white blood cell count; SI <0.6; SI 0.6 to 1; SI 1 to 1.4and SI ≥ 1.4. Results: There was a positive correlation between shock index and blood lactate level, r=0.2, n=104, p=0.042. No relationship was found between SI>=1 and hyperlactemia, X2 (.285, N = 104) = 1, p =.594 and relationship was found between SI >=0.7 and hyperlactemia, X2 (4.1, N = 104) = 1, p =.04. sensitivity and specificity for detecting hyperlactemia of SI>=1, SI.=0.7, SIRS was 84% and 20%, 93% and 0%, 79% and 20% respectively. Conclusions: There was weak correlation between the lactate level and shock index with statistically significant correlation between the shock index grouped >=0.7 and hyperlactatemia with high sensitivity and very low specificity.

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Emergency Department Referral Profile of Traumatic Brain Injury Records at a Tertiary Care Hospital of Pakistan

10.21203/rs.3.rs-84330/v3 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Maria Khan ◽

Uzair Yaqoob ◽

Zair Hassan ◽

Muhammad Muizz Uddin

Keyword(s):

Traumatic Brain Injury ◽

Emergency Department ◽

Brain Injury ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Initial Assessment ◽

Care Hospital ◽

Mild Tbi ◽

Epidemiological Characteristics ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality all over the world and the impact is much worse in Pakistan. The objective here is to describe the epidemiological characteristics of patients with TBI in our country and to determine the immediate outcomes of patients with TBI after the presentation.Method: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan. Data were extracted from the medical records from January 1st to December 31st, 2019. Patient age, sex, type of trauma, and immediate outcome of the referral to the Emergency Department were recorded. The severity of TBI was categorized based on Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) in mild (GCS 13-15), moderate (GCS 9-12), and severe (GCS <8) classes. The Emergency Department referral profile was classified as admissions, disposed, detained and disposed, referred.Results: Out of 5047 patients, 3689 (73.1%) males and 1358 (26.9%) females. The most commonly affected age group was 0-10 years (25.6%) and 21-30 years (20.1%). Road Traffic accident was the predominant cause of injury (38.8%, n=1960) followed by fall (32.7%, n=1649). Most (93.6%, n=4710) of the TBIs were mild. After the full initial assessment and workup, and completing all first-aid management, the immediate outcome was divided into four, most frequent (67.2%, n=3393) of which was “disposed (discharged)”, and 9.3% (n=470) were admitted for further management.Conclusion: Our study represents a relatively commonplace picture of epidemiological data on the burden of TBI in Pakistan. As a large proportion of patients had a mild TBI, and there is a high risk of mild TBI being under-diagnosed, we warrant further investigation of mild TBI in population-based studies.

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CLINICAL PROFILE OF OUTPATIENTS ATTENDING DERMATOLOGY DEPARTMENT DURING COVID-19 LOCKDOWN RELAXATION PERIOD IN A TERTIARY CARE CENTRE IN SOUTH INDIA – A CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYTICAL STUDY

10.36106/ijsr/6906051 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 13-16

Author(s):

Afthab Jameela Wahab ◽

Pavithra Gunasekaran ◽

P. Mohan ◽

V. Sudha ◽

L. Balamurugan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South India ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Care Centre ◽

Tertiary Care Centre ◽

Dermatology Department ◽

Cutaneous Manifestations ◽

Relaxation Period ◽

Number Of Patients ◽

Outpatient Practice ◽

The Impact

Background - The cutaneous manifestations of the novel coronavirus have been well documented. However, there are few studies that relate to the clinical prole of regular dermatology outpatients seeking treatment during the lockdown relaxation period braving the pandemic. With the Aim - view to determine the changes seen in dermatology outpatient practice, this study analysed the clinical prole of new patients attending the Dermatology Outpatient Department (OPD) during the COVID-19 lockdown relaxation period in a tertiary care centre in a metropolitan suburb in South India. New dermatology outpatients during the months of May, June, July and August Method - 2020 were included in the study. Outpatient data for this period was analysed and compared with corresponding data for the same period in the previous two years. There was a Result – decrease in the OP census, number of patients in the extremes of life as well as those with asymptomatic dermatoses. There was an increase in the number of patients with infections, particularly dermatophytosis. There was also a noteworthy absence of dermatological emergencies. Conclusion - In essence, our study shows the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the routine dermatology outpatient services with signicant changes in the clinical prole of outpatient practice following lockdown relaxation.

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P73 Trends in ultrasound guided musculoskeletal injections at one tertiary care centre over 6 years

Rheumatology ◽

10.1093/rheumatology/keaa111.072 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 59 (Supplement_2) ◽

Author(s):

Kunal Lall ◽

Vivian Ejindu ◽

Patrick D. W Kiely

Keyword(s):

Soft Tissue ◽

Time Pressure ◽

Waiting Times ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Fold Increase ◽

Ultrasound Guided ◽

Tertiary Care Centre ◽

The Impact ◽

Effective Service

Abstract Background Ultrasound (US) has brought many benefits into rheumatologic practice, delivery of targeted injections into joints, bursae and other structures. Whilst many joints may be accurately injected in clinic, guided by clinical landmarks, US permits injections into anatomically less accessible sites. We have assessed trends in the number and type of requests for US guided joint or soft tissue injections from the rheumatology department over the last 6 years, and the impact on waiting times. Methods Details of all requests for US guided joint or soft tissue injections were obtained from the St George’s PACS system from 1 January 2013 - 31 December 2018. Review of patient records was conducted to determine whether the referral was routine or urgent, the waiting time between referral and appointment, the joint or structure to be injected, and whether an injection into the requested site was actually performed. Results Table 1 shows the total number of out-patient attendances in rheumatology per year from 2013 - 2018, the number of referrals for US-guided injection, the proportion requested urgently and waiting times for routine and urgent cases. Over 6 years requests for US guided injections have risen 2.3-fold, from <1% to nearly 2% of all out-patient attendances. Of 1834 requests, no injections were given in 420 instances (23%), due to patient preference or lack of indication at time of US. In 2018 of all joint or tendon/bursa injections initiated in rheumatology, 260 (38%) were given in routine clinic time without delay, and 420 (62%) were requested by US with a delay of over 2 months. Conclusion Over 6 years a 33% increase in out-patient clinic workload has been accompanied by a disproportionate 2.3-fold increase in requests for US guided injections, representing >50% of injections initiated by the service. One explanation may be time pressure in clinic. This trend has not been matched by increased radiology capacity, with urgent requests now waiting >6 weeks. This has implications for quality of care, staffing and effective service delivery. The trend to fewer injections in clinic will continue if clinicians become increasingly reliant on radiology colleagues. Disclosures K. Lall None. V. Ejindu None. P.D.W. Kiely None.

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P060: Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome presentation to the emergency department: a two-year multi-centre retrospective study

CJEM ◽

10.1017/cem.2016.236 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 18 (S1) ◽

pp. S98-S99 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

J.M. Hernandez ◽

J. Paty ◽

I. Price

Keyword(s):

Emergency Department ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Case Series ◽

Kappa Statistic ◽

Cannabis Use ◽

Data Abstraction ◽

Tertiary Care Centre ◽

Associated Symptoms ◽

Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome ◽

Ed Visits

Introduction: Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is a paradoxical side effect of cannabis use. Patients with CHS often present multiple times to the Emergency Department (ED) with cyclical nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, and are discharged with various misdiagnoses. CHS studies to date are limited to case series. We examined the epidemiology of CHS cases presenting to two major urban Tertiary Care Centre EDs. Methods: Using explicit variables, trained abstractors, and standardized abstraction forms, we abstracted data for all adults (18-55 years) with a presenting complaint of vomiting, and/or a discharge diagnosis of vomiting and/or cyclical vomiting, during a 2-year period. Inter-rater agreement was measured using a kappa statistic. Results: We identified 494 cases: mean age 31 years; 36% male; only 19.4% of charts specifically reported cannabis use. Among the regular cannabis users (>3 times per week), 43% had repeat ED visits for similar complaints. Interestingly, of these patients, 92% had bloodwork done in the ED, 92% received IV fluids, 89% received anti-emetics, 27% received opiates, 19% underwent imaging, 8% were admitted to hospital, and 8% were referred to the Gastroentorology service. Inter-rater reliability for data abstraction was kappa = 1. Conclusion: This study suggests CHS may be an overlooked diagnosis for nausea and vomiting, a factor which can possibly contribute to unnecessary investigations and treatment in the ED. Additionally, this indicates a lack of screening for CHS on ED history, especially in quantifying cannabis use and eliciting associated symptoms of CHS.

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