Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2016
ReviewReview article: Effectiveness of ultra-brief interventions in the emergency department to reduce alcohol consumption: A systematic review.
To assess the effectiveness of ultra-brief interventions (ultra-BI) or technology-involved preventive measures in the ED to reduce alcohol harm and risky drinking. Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL and EBM reviews were searched for articles published between 1996 and 2015. Randomised controlled trials and quasi-randomised trials, which compared an ultra-BI with screening, standard care or minimal intervention for adults and adolescents at risk for alcohol-related harm presenting to an ED, were included. ⋯ No studies showed an effect on frequency of alcohol consumption or ED representation. Heterogeneity in study design, definition of risky, harmful or hazardous alcohol use, intervention types, outcomes, outcome timeframes and outcome measures prevented the performance of quantitative meta-analysis. Despite its limited effectiveness in reducing alcohol use in the short-term, with the large number of people attending EDs with risky drinking, the use of an effective ultra-BI would have the potential to have a measurable population effect.
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2016
Observational StudyFinger counting method is more accurate than age-based weight estimation formulae in estimating the weight of Hong Kong children presenting to the emergency department.
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the finger counting method and compare its performance with four commonly used age-based weight estimation formulae in children aged 1-9 years presenting to the ED in Hong Kong. ⋯ The finger counting method outperforms the commonly used age-based weight estimation formulae in children aged 1-9 years presenting to the ED in Hong Kong.
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2016
Description of the ambulance services participating in the Aus-ROC Australian and New Zealand out-of-hospital cardiac arrest Epistry.
The present study aimed to describe and examine similarities and differences in the current service provision and resuscitation protocols of the ambulance services participating in the Aus-ROC Australian and New Zealand out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) Epistry. Understanding these similarities and differences is important in identifying ambulance service factors that might explain regional variation in survival of OHCA in the Aus-ROC Epistry. ⋯ There is marked variation between ambulance services currently participating in the Aus-ROC Australian and New Zealand OHCA Epistry with respect to workforce characteristics and key variable definitions. This variation between ambulance services might account for a proportion of the regional variation in survival of OHCA.
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2016
Which patients should be transported to the emergency department? A perpetual prehospital dilemma.
To examine the ability of paramedics to identify patients who could be managed in the community and to identify predictors that could be used to accurately identify patients who should be transported to EDs. ⋯ Lower acuity patients who could be treated in the community were not accurately identified by paramedics. This process requires further evaluation.
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2016
Observational StudyThe VHOT (Vindaloo Hastens Outpouring of Troponins) Study.
Multiple cardiac and non-cardiac processes may cause an elevated highly sensitive troponin (hsTn). We postulated that the consumption of a seriously hot vindaloo could cause an increase in hsTn levels in seemingly healthy volunteers. ⋯ Eating a seriously hot vindaloo does not appear to be a risk factor for troponitis, and people may consume vindaloo safely with the knowledge that this is unlikely to result in significant damage to their myocardium. However, clinicians should be aware of the biological variability of hsTn and exercise caution when interpreting apparent changes within the normal range.