The emergency department nurses are noting an unusually high number of patients coming in with complaints of nausea, vomiting, and severe headache. What should be done with this information?
1. No further action is needed at this time.
2. Contact the Infection Control Department and Laboratory Medicine.
3. Close the emergency department.
4. Call for more staffing to handle all the patients.
Correct Answer: 2
Healthcare providers must be alert when there is a change in the trend of symptoms within patients. The infection control nurse should be contacted. Laboratory medicine will run tests on specimens that would otherwise be discarded. The public health department is also contacted with this information. Closing the emergency department would not be necessary. Staffing may need to be adjusted based on the number or acuity of patients, not just a trend in symptoms.
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