African journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence
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Ninety percent of all injury-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. The WHO recommends short, resource-specific trauma courses for healthcare providers. Studies show that teaching trauma courses to medical students in developed countries leads to significant increases in knowledge and skill. High costs hinder widespread and sustained teaching of these courses in low-income countries. ⋯ Senior Kenyan medical students demonstrated statistically significant increases in knowledge, skills and confidence after participating in a novel student trauma course. Nine months post-course, improvements in knowledge skills and confidence were sustained.
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We compare the effectiveness of direct laryngoscopy (DL) to video laryngoscopy (VL) in simulated, difficult airway scenarios in a cohort of novice, prehospital, emergency care providers. ⋯ In our small sample, we found DL to be superior to VL in relation to a reduced risk of failed intubation and frequency of intubation attempts despite VL being superior in obtaining a good view of the vocal cords in a face-to-face intubation scenario. We found no statistically significant difference in the time taken to intubate in any scenarios. A larger study is required to inform practice and education around prehospital use of VL.