Annals of emergency medicine
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Correct decision making may have far-reaching consequences. Triage is an area in which decision-makers must know what they are doing, why they are doing it, and which actions to take to achieve a satisfactory outcome. Triage has its origins in military history and today is used in a variety of medical settings. ⋯ Useful concepts enabling correct decision making by the triage officer include the application of computer technology and a review of methods of patient categorization. The dynamic nature of triage and the role of the triage officer as part of a team approach to disaster patient management are highlighted. We explore techniques for the successful training and education of triage officers and investigate a model of the emergency physician as the triage officer.
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Firearm violence is a serious threat to the health of our children: an American child dies of gunshot wounds every 1 1/2 hours, and every 2 days 30 children--the equivalent of a school classroom--lose their lives to guns. Injured children and adolescents are cared for in emergency departments and trauma centers, and in some urban areas the increasing incidence of firearm injuries threatens to overwhelm the trauma care delivery system. Because of the prevalence and enormous cost of firearm violence it has been identified as an epidemic and a public health emergency. In this article we discuss the burden of firearm injury and its effect on children and young adult, and we outline a public health approach to firearm injury prevention.
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Scombroid poisoning is described in the literature as a toxic poisoning caused by ingestion of certain dark meat fish undergoing bacterial decomposition. Poisoning results from the ingestion of a heat-stable toxin. We describe the case of a man who presented to the emergency department several hours after eating tuna steak with evidence of scombroid poisoning that was associated with loss of vision and atrial tachycardia with block. All signs and symptoms resolved after treatment for scombroid poisoning.