title: Emergency upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in the Emergency Room of Tokai University Hospital.
abstract: The Tokai University Hospital is the only tertiary emergency hospital in the western region of Kanagawa prefecture and treats many patients; for example, more than 7,000 cases (including 297 helicopter-transfer cases) were transferred to the Emergency Room (ER) of the hospital in 2008. In cases where an emergency endoscopy is necessary, such as suspected upper gastrointestinal (UGI) tract bleeding, the gastroenterologists and the ER staff collaborate on patient care, diagnosis and treatment. The purpose of this study was to summarize such cases in the hospital and to elucidate the possible problems that such collaboration may cause, by means of a questionnaire completed by both the gastroenterology and the ER staff. There were 366 emergency upper GI endoscopies performed in the ER from April 2007 to October 2009, which included 163 hemostasis, 8 foreign body retrievals and 195 observation-only cases. After arrival of the patients, first the ER staff took care of them, then the gastroenterologist was called and both collaborated on the procedures to be implemented. The questionnaires revealed that, generally speaking, the collaboration worked well, but there were several problems that needed to be solved including maintenance, equipment supply and assistance of therapeutic endoscopy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine (Gastroenterology), Tokai University School of Medicine, 143 Shimokasuya, Isehara, Kanagawa 259-1193 Japan. mmatsush@is.icc.u-tokai.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsushima
authors.forename: Takayoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Arase
authors.forename: Youko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tsukune
authors.forename: Mia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujisawa
authors.forename: Tetsufumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Uchida
authors.forename: Katsuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shirakura
authors.forename: Muneki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Igarashi
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Koike
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mine
authors.forename: Yuhei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kanari
authors.forename: Hiromichi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Aoki
mesh_terms: D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016099:Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D016558:Hemostasis, Endoscopic / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome