The current hospital protocol for Ebola is to identify (screen and speak up); isolate (place or in private room on contact and droplet precautions); escalate (immediate coordination of care with infectious disease, department management, and administration); and protect (use proper PPE when caring for suspected or confirmed Ebola patients). It has been said that rules and policies arise from errors and mistakes. This may very well be true, for the educational push for the current practice of caring for an Ebola patient resulted from lack of training and education regarding the screening, procedures, and care for the Ebola patient in Dallas.
Four days after arriving from Liberia, Thomas Duncan arrived to a Dallas hospital ER for the chief complaint of fever, abdominal pain, dizziness, and nausea--four of the most common reasons people go to the ER. At the time of his first check in to the ED, he was treated the same as any other patient with viral symptoms and/or gastroenteritis. He was triaged; treated; diagnosed; and received discharge instructions to take a prescribed antibiotic (unsure of why, if he was diagnosed with a viral infection), antipyretics for fever, and instructed to return to the ER for any worsening symptoms. Two days later, Mr Duncan arrived to the ER via ambulance. This time, he was labeled as an Ebola risk, and was isolated based on his symptoms and travel history.
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1. Lack of hospital and staff education regarding Ebola preparedness and how to effectively care for an Ebola patient.
2. Lack of using screening protocols effectively and failure to recognize triggers indicating Ebola