Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2006
Development and implementation of an education and credentialing programme to provide safe paediatric procedural sedation in emergency departments.
In the conduct of paediatric procedural sedation (PPS) within the ED the combination of powerful drugs, variable competency levels and high staff turnover carry the potential for sedation-associated adverse events. Yet, currently, there is no set programme for education and accreditation of ED staff in PPS. We set out to develop such a programme. ⋯ We present the development and implementation of a comprehensive PPS programme for emergency staff. As a result of the multicentre development process involving a community and a tertiary paediatric ED the programme will likely have broad applicability in different types of ED caring for children.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2006
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyRandomized, single blinded control trial comparing haemolysis rate between two cannula aspiration techniques.
Blood aspiration through i.v. cannulae is a common ED sampling method. It is, however, associated with increased haemolysis rates when compared with direct venipuncture. Our ED utilizes two common methods of sampling through cannulae. The aim of the present study was to examine the haemolysis rates for these two techniques. ⋯ The rate of haemolysis is unrelated to the technique of blood aspiration. However, haemolysis rates increase significantly with perceived difficulty of blood draw.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2006
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyRandomized comparison of the SLIPA (Streamlined Liner of the Pharynx Airway) and the SS-LM (Soft Seal Laryngeal Mask) by medical students.
The aim of the study was to compare the Streamlined Liner of the Pharynx Airway (SLIPA; Hudson RCI), a new supraglottic airway device, with the Soft Seal Laryngeal Mask (SS-LM; Portex) when used by novices. ⋯ In the present study novice users demonstrated high success rates with both devices. The SLIPA group achieved shorter times to ventilation when it was the first device they inserted, which might prove to be of clinical significance, particularly in resuscitation attempts. Although the Laryngeal Mask has gained wide recognition for use by both novice users and as a rescue airway in failed intubation, the data presented here suggest that the SLIPA might also prove useful in these areas.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2006
Training of disaster managers at a masters degree level: from emergency care to managerial control.
The world has faced huge disasters over the last few decades and concerns have been expressed by nearly all international agencies involved that there is a scarcity of managerial skills to deal with the mitigation and management of disasters. Disaster risks are also on the increase throughout Africa and Southern Africa because of changes in the development process, settlement patterns and conflicts in the region. Emergency physicians are but one important resource in dealing with disasters. ⋯ The MPH is aimed at preparing professionals from health and allied fields to play leadership roles in the management, improvement and evaluation of health and the health-care system. Emergency physicians have an important role to play in the development of disaster medicine and disaster management programmes and it is important that they engage in this activity, collaborating with colleagues of various other disciplines as appropriate. The following paper outlines the background to the programme and the current programme.