The presentation of septic patients with low C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations to the emergency room (ER) might convey an erroneous impression regarding the severity of the disease.We analyzed a retrospective study of septic patients admitted to the internal medicine departments of a relatively large tertiary medical center, following admission to the ER. These patients had CRP concentrations of <31.9 mg/L, the determined cut-off for CRP concentrations in a large cohort of apparently healthy individuals in the community (n = 17,214, upper limit of mean + 3 standard deviations).By processing the electronic medical records, we found 2724 patients with a diagnosis of sepsis, 476 of whom had an admission CRP concentration of <31.9 mg/L. Following further analysis of these records, we found that 34 of the 175 patients (19.4%) who fulfilled the definition of sepsis, died within 1 week of hospitalization. Of special interest was the finding that within <24 h, a significant increment from a median CRP of 16.1 mg/L (IQR 7.9–22.5) to 58.6 mg/L (IQR 24.2–134.4), (P < .001) was noted, accompanied by a velocity change from 0.4 ± 0.29 to 8.3 ± 24.2 mg/L/h following antibiotic administration (P < .001).ER physicians should take into consideration that septic patients with a high in-hospital mortality rate can present with CRP concentrations that are within the range observed in apparently healthy individuals in the community. A second CRP test obtained within 24 h following antibiotic administration might influence attitudes regarding the severity of the disease.

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has placed additional burden on already strained healthcare systems worldwide, intensifying the responsibility and burden of healthcare workers. Although most hospital staff continued working during this stressful and challenging unprecedented pandemic, differences in the characteristics and attributes were noted between sectors and hospital departments. Israeli healthcare workers are trained and experienced in coping with national emergencies, but the pandemic has exposed variations in staff reactions. Understanding the intrinsic differences between sectors and departments is a key factor in staff and hospital preparedness for unexpected events, better resource utilization for timely interventions to mitigate risk and improve staff wellbeing.ObjectiveTo identify and compare the level of resilience, secondary traumatization and burnout among hospital workers, between different sectors and hospital departments, during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsCross-sectional research to assess the resiliency, secondary traumatization and burnout of healthcare workers at a large general public hospital in central Israel. The sample consisted of 655 participants across various hospital units exposed to COVID-19 patients.ResultsEmergency department physicians had higher rates of resilience and lower rates of burnout and secondary traumatization than staff in other hospital departments. In contrast, staff from internal medicine departments demonstrated the highest levels of burnout (4.29). Overall, physicians demonstrated higher levels of resilience (7.26) and lower levels of burnout compared to other workers.ConclusionIdentifying resilience characteristics across hospital staff, sectors and departments can guide hospital management in education, preparation and training of healthcare workers for future large-scale health emergencies such as pandemics, natural disasters, and war.

Introduction Congestion in emergency departments [ED] is a significant challenge worldwide. Any delay in the timely and immediate medical care provided in the ED can affect patient morbidity and mortality. Our research analyzed the use of an innovative platform to improve patient navigation in the ED, as well as provide updated information about their care. Our hope is that this can improve ED efficiency and improve overall patient care. Objective The primary objective of our study was to determine whether the use of an automatic push notification system can shorten ‘length of stay’ (LOS) in the ED, improve patient flow, and decrease ED patient load. Methods This was a prospective cohort study utilizing data extrapolated from the electronic medical records of 2972 patients who visited the walk-in ED of a large-scale central hospital in Israel from January 17, 2021 to March 15, 2021. During this period, the automatic push text notification system was activated on a week-on week-off basis. We compared data from our experimental group with the control group. Results The results of this study indicate that the use of an automatic push notification system had a minimal impact on specific parameters of ED patient flow. Apart from a few significant reductions of specific timed-intervals during patients’ ED visit, the majority of results were not statistically significant. Conclusion This study concluded that the anticipated benefits of a push text notification system in the ED do not, at this stage, justify the system’s additional cost. We recommend a follow-up study to further investigate other possible benefits.