European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Pain is a common presenting complaint of emergency department patients. Providing instructions that can be easily recalled by patients is an important step in enabling patients to manage their pain following discharge. The effect of the introduction of written discharge instructions for pain medication on patients' recall of instructions was evaluated in this study. ⋯ In the second phase, significantly more patients, 71% (P<0.01), were able to recall the instructions correctly. Results of this study support the hypothesis that it makes sense to provide patients with written instructions about the appropriate use of analgesics, and that emergency departments that are not yet doing this should consider introducing this policy. It is a relatively low-cost measure that could lead to a significant improvement in quality of care.
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Multicenter Study
Accuracy of emergency physician-performed ultrasound in detecting traumatic pneumothorax after a 2-h training course.
Pneumothorax is one of the leading causes of preventable death in trauma patients. Chest radiograph has a lower sensitivity than a computed tomography (CT) scan for the diagnosis of pneumothorax. ⋯ After just a 2-h training course, emergency physicians showed a good success rate in finding pneumothoraces. Thoracic US can be an easy to learn and an accurate diagnostic modality for the detection of traumatic pneumothorax in emergency departments.
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Tertiary trauma survey is widely implemented in trauma care to identify all injuries in trauma patients. However, various studies consistently show that some trauma patients have missed injuries. In this study, we developed a clinical decision model to identify patients who are at risk for delayed diagnosed injuries. ⋯ Our newly developed clinical decision model can identify patients who are at a risk for delayed diagnosed injuries and who should undergo an intensified search for potential unidentified injuries.
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The Fliker, the new version of the foot-propelled scooter, has emerged as an increasingly popular recreational activity for children. This increase in popularity has led to a number of attendances to our tertiary paediatric emergency department (ED) with Fliker-associated injuries. The aim of this study was to examine the incidence and type of such injuries. ⋯ The Fliker is one of a number of fad recreational activities to have emerged in recent times. Similar to some of its predecessors (e.g. Heelys, rollerblades), it is associated with a spectrum of injuries in children.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Tracheal intubation during chest compressions performed by qualified emergency physicians unfamiliar with the Pentax-Airwayscope.
Experienced emergency physicians were recruited and a randomized crossover trial was conducted to compare the performance of the Pentax-Airwayscope (AWS) video-laryngoscope with the Macintosh laryngoscope (McL) for tracheal intubation during continuous chest compressions under three different scenarios: (1) normal airway, (2) limited neck mobility, and (3) tongue edema. ⋯ Although participants were experienced emergency physicians familiar with the McL and unfamiliar with the AWS, the AWS proved to be a better tool than the McL to perform tracheal intubation during continuous chest compressions on a manikin. The AWS should be considered as an initial intubating tool to perform tracheal intubation during continuous chest compressions rather than the McL.