Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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A short cut review was carried out to establish whether there is any evidence to show if topical antibiotic therapy reduces time to remission in acute bacterial conjunctivitis. Altogether 1231 papers were found using the reported search, of which one presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of this paper are tabulated. A clinical bottom line is stated.
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Comparative Study
Triage decisions of prehospital emergency health care providers, using a multiple casualty scenario paper exercise.
To examine the accuracy of theoretical triage decision making among emergency prehospital health care professionals, using a multiple casualty paper exercise. ⋯ There is little difference in the accuracy of triage decision making between the professional groups, with doctors and nurses scoring marginally better than paramedics. The rates of over triage are high posing the risk of overwhelming available resources further. Under triage rates are also high, with potentially life threatening conditions going unrecognised. However, some margin of error may be accounted for by the untested validity of the triage sieve methodology.
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Biography Historical Article
Medicine in the heart of the Antarctic: 1908-2001.
Prehospital care in the United Kingdom rarely lasts more than a few hours other than in exceptional circumstances (for example, mountain and cave rescue, oil rigs). In other parts of the world hospitals may be much more distant and in expeditions to remote areas, prehospital care may extend to days or even weeks. When this occurs, the boundaries between primary care and prehospital care blur.
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Magnesium has been advocated for the treatment of a variety of conditions seen in emergency medicine. The authors present a systematic review and advice on appropriate indications for its use. Evidence supports its use in severe asthma, eclampsia, and torsade de pointes. There is insufficient evidence to justify its routine use in other emergencies.