Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
-
Maxillofacial injuries are often seen in the emergency department. Fractures of the facial skeleton are commonly seen after assault, road traffic accidents, falls, and sporting injuries in a ratio mandibular:zygoma:maxillary of 6:2:1. Clinicians must be familiar with their management so that appropriate treatment may be used.
-
A short-cut review was carried out to establish whether myringotomy is of value in cases of haemotympanum. In all, 205 papers were found in Medline and 105 in Cochrane using the reported searches. None presented any evidence to answer the clinical question. Hence, it is concluded that there is no evidence available to guide this decision and that local expert advice should be followed.
-
A short-cut review was carried out to establish whether the administration of aspirin before computed tomography scanning improved outcome in patients with symptoms suggestive of stroke. In all, 866 papers were found using the reported searches, two of which presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author group, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these best papers are tabulated. If a computed tomography scan is to be carried out within 48 h of onset of symptoms, then it is prudent to await the result before starting aspirin.
-
A short-cut review was carried out to establish whether emergency department ultrasound scanning had clinical utility for the diagnosis of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). A total of 73 papers were found using the reported searches, of which 4 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 these best papers are tabulated. It is concluded that in patients suspected of having AAA, emergency department bedside ultrasound scanning for AAA is sensitive and specific and may improve patient care.
-
Multicenter Study
A study of depression and anxiety among doctors working in emergency units in Denizli, Turkey.
Major work has been carried out on the psychological well-being of emergency room doctors in the US, Canada and in other developed countries, but little has been published regarding the same in the countries in economic transition. ⋯ The considerable amount of depression and anxiety found among doctors in this study should trigger further work. Studies using more powerful designs would help to illuminate the factors leading to depression and anxiety, which result in attrition among doctors from emergency units.