Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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Medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) are physical symptoms for which no relevant organic pathology can be found. Patients with MUPS commonly present to the emergency department (ED) but are rarely considered in emergency medicine teaching or literature. ⋯ It then provides strategies for more effective management, such as exploring the contribution of psychosocial factors with patients, explaining negative test results, and providing reassurance and avoiding creating iatrogenic anxiety. Early recognition of the fact that symptoms may not result from organic disease and an appreciation of the role of psychosocial factors may improve outcomes by reducing unnecessary investigation and admission, and avoiding reinforcement that encourages further similar presentations and unhelpful coping mechanisms.
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To review the function of an emergency department paediatric observation unit. ⋯ The emergency paediatric observational unit was used to assess and treat children with a variety of conditions. This enabled many children to be managed in the emergency department rather than being admitted to the paediatric wards.
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Case Reports
Out of hospital difficult intubation resolved with nasotracheal use of a gum elastic bougie.
We report the case of a 30 year old man managed in an out of hospital setting for a cardiorespiratory arrest. The patient was impossible to intubate under direct laryngoscopy because of a severe mouth opening limitation associated with a buffalo neck. ⋯ The bougie could be blindly inserted into the trachea, and the patient was intubated using the bougie as a guide. Tracheal intubation was then confirmed using the syringe aspiration test and end tidal carbon dioxide detection.
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In 1999, the UK adopted a policy of using TOXBASE, an internet service available free to registered National Health Service (NHS) departments and professionals, as the first point of information on poisoning. This was the first use worldwide of the internet for provision of clinical advice at a national level. We report the impact on database usage and NPIS telephone call loads. ⋯ Provision of poisons information by the internet has been successful in reducing NPIS call loads. Provision of basic poisons information by this method appears to be acceptable to different professional groups, and to be effective in reducing telephone call loads and increasing service cost effectiveness.
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Appropriate resuscitation of hypoxic patients is fundamental in emergency admissions. To achieve this, it is standard practice of ambulance staff to administer high concentrations of oxygen to patients who may be in respiratory distress. A proportion of patients with chronic respiratory disease will become hypercapnic on this. ⋯ These data support the usability of such a scheme to prevent iatrogenic hypercapnia in emergency admissions.