Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
-
Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2017
Observational StudyFactors influencing choice of pre-hospital transportation of patients with potential acute coronary syndrome: An observational study.
To determine factors associated with ambulance use in patients with confirmed and potential acute coronary syndrome presenting to the ED. ⋯ Patients with possible ischaemic symptoms who are at a high risk of cardiac disease do not utilise ambulance services more than low risk patients. In general, transport to hospital using ambulance services by patients with symptoms of possible acute coronary syndrome is low despite community campaigns.
-
Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2017
Acute management of autoimmune toxicity in cancer patients on immunotherapy: Common toxicities and the approach for the emergency physician.
When a patient receiving anti-cancer treatment presents acutely unwell, an understanding of associated side effects of their therapy is critical. This review will discuss the approach to patients receiving anti-cancer treatment with immunotherapy presenting with autoimmune toxicities in the emergency setting. These toxicities are commonly referred to as immune-related adverse events (irAE). ⋯ General principles of managing these irAE in the acute setting will be outlined. Steroid therapy is a critical component of the treatment algorithm, being administered at high doses and for prolonged periods to switch off immune over-activation. Prompt intervention might prevent multi-organ failure and fatality, and allow patients to remain on effective anti-cancer therapy.
-
Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2017
Observational StudyRetrospective review of Prothrombinex use by SAAS MedSTAR.
The aim of this study was to review and describe the use of Prothrombinex by a physician-led retrieval service based remote from a hospital blood bank. ⋯ Prothrombinex is a clinically useful product that can be relatively easily stored and used by retrieval services, even if they are based in isolation from a hospital blood bank. More research is required to look at the utility of Prothrombinex for non-warfarin-related bleeding in the pre-hospital and retrieval environment.