Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2012
Case ReportsAcute ST-elevation myocardial infarction in a 24-year-old woman with atheromatous coronary artery disease.
We report the case of a 24-year-old Torres Strait Islander woman who presented to a rural hospital ED with chest pain suspicious for myocardial ischaemia and was found to have an anterior ST-elevation myocardial infarction. She was thrombolysed and transferred to a tertiary centre where subsequent angiography revealed atheromatous disease of the left anterior descending coronary artery. We believe this to be one of the youngest reported cases of myocardial infarction due to atheromatous coronary artery disease, and demonstrates important learning points regarding the demographics and risk factors of indigenous patients with chest pain.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2012
Palliative care in the emergency department: an oxymoron or just good medicine?
In 2006, the American Board of Emergency Medicine co-sponsored hospice and palliative medicine as a recognized medical subspecialty. There is recognition of the need for these skills to be available in EDs in the USA. This article discusses the rationale for integrating a palliative approach in the ED. We need to engage our palliative care colleagues to increase clinical support to meet the needs of these vulnerable patients and to foster collaborative educational opportunities.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2012
Impact of polymerase chain reaction results on patient management during a viral meningitis outbreak in Tropical North Queensland.
Enterovirus is the most commonly isolated pathogen in viral meningitis. We report on the first outbreak of viral meningitis in Tropical Queensland and the effect of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results on antibiotic use and hospital length of stay. ⋯ In our study a positive result on PCR was not associated with a shorter hospital length of stay or a shorter duration of antibiotic therapy. This contrasts with previous reports on this topic and requires further evaluation.
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Development of any new profession is dependent on the development of a special body of knowledge that is the domain of the profession. Key to this is research. Following sustained lobbying, the Queensland Government agreed to establish an emergency medicine research fund as part of an Enterprise Bargaining Agreement in 2006. ⋯ The Foundation has developed a range of personnel and project support funding programmes, and competition for funding has increased. Ongoing evaluation will seek to determine the effectiveness of the current funding strategy on improving the effectiveness of research performance. It will also evaluate the clinical and organizational outcomes.