Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2015
Multicenter StudyImproved outcomes for emergency department patients whose ambulance off-stretcher time is not delayed.
To describe and compare characteristics and outcomes of patients who arrive by ambulance to the ED. We aimed to (i) compare patients with a delayed ambulance offload time (AOT) >30 min with those who were not delayed; and (ii) identify predictors of an ED length of stay (LOS) of >4 h for ambulance-arriving patients. ⋯ Patients arriving to the ED via ambulance and offloaded within 30 min experience better outcomes than those delayed. Given that offload delay is a modifiable predictor of an ED LOS of >4 h, targeted improvements in the ED arrival process for ambulance patients might be useful.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2015
Fluid resuscitation for paediatric sepsis: A survey of senior emergency physicians in Australia and New Zealand.
It is unclear whether emerging evidence for harm from aggressive fluid resuscitation for paediatric sepsis has altered clinical practice. We surveyed senior emergency physicians to see if their fluid resuscitation practices conformed to published clinical guidelines. ⋯ Paediatric sepsis is reported to be managed by senior emergency physicians largely according to published guidelines. At this time, evidence for potential harm from fluid bolus resuscitation has not altered practice.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2015
Last drinks: A study of rural emergency department data collection to identify and target community alcohol-related violence.
The present study summarises the methodology and findings of a pilot project designed to measure the sources and locations of alcohol-related harm by implementing anonymised 'last drinks' questions in the ED of a rural community. ⋯ This pilot demonstrates the feasibility and reliability of implementing sustainable 'last drinks' data collection methods in the ED, and the ability to effectively map the source of alcohol-related ED attendances in a rural community.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2015
Comparison of the finger counting method, the Broselow tape and common weight estimation formulae in Filipino children after Typhoon Haiyan.
We sought to evaluate commonly used paediatric weight estimation techniques in a sample of children in the Philippines. ⋯ The Broselow tape and the traditional APLS formula performed best in our sample. The finger counting method also outperformed newer weight estimation formulae. 'Updated' age-based formulae created recently in developed countries should not be used in disaster relief efforts in the Philippines. Caution should be used when applying these formulae to other developing countries and in disaster response.