Emergency nurse : the journal of the RCN Accident and Emergency Nursing Association
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Paget-Schroetter's syndrome (PSS) is an effort-related syndrome involving upper extremity deep vein thromboses (UEDVTs) that usually occur in the subclavian or axillary veins. The aetiology is distinct from that of lower extremity DVTs (LEDVTs). Although rare, the syndrome can occur in young, otherwise healthy people who participate in upper extremity activity (Roche-Nagle et al 2007) such as footballer Gary Cahill, a defender at Bolton Wanderers, whose hopes of playing football at international level this season have diminished as a result of developing a UEDVT (BBC Sport 2010). This article discusses the incidence and aetiology, and provides a case study, of the syndrome.
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The treatment received in emergency departments by people who self-harm depends to a great extent on the behaviour of staff and how this is perceived by service users. In this article, a long-time service user describes how she was pleasantly surprised by the attitudes of the emergency nurses and doctors who cared for her after she had self-harmed.
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Establishing vascular access is vital to maximise resuscitation in critically ill children and adults (LaRocco and Wang 2003), and failure can result in delays in life-saving treatment (Nutbeam and Daniels 2010). The traditional intravenous access method can be difficult to achieve in patients with circulatory collapse (LaRocco and Wang 2003) and failure rates in emergency situations vary between 10 and 40 per cent (Lewis 1986). ⋯ The IO route is described and the indications and contraindications considered. Common insertion sites and devices of IO access are discussed.