Impact of ED Holding Area on the Adherence to International Guidelines

Adherence to guidelines by physicians of an emergency department (ED) depends on many guideline and environmental factors; patient and practitioner characteristics; the social-political context. We focused on the impact of the environmental influence and of the patients' characteristics on adherence to the guidelines. It is our intention to demonstrate how environmental factors such as ED organization and in particular an holding area with a dedicated team more affect adherence to guidelines than the patient's clinical presentation even in a clinically insidious disease such as pulmonary embolism (PE).