Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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To determine if peripheral intravenous cannula dead space is taken into account when setting up intravenous infusions (in particular nitrate infusions) in the emergency department. ⋯ Knowledge of peripheral intravenous cannula dead space in UK emergency departments is very poor and, as a result, there is probably significant widespread under treatment of patients in severe cardiogenic pulmonary oedema. Departments should amend their treatment guidelines to take account of peripheral cannula dead space.
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A case of pulsation in the abdomen induced by a maladjusted cardiac pacemaker-CRT (cardiac resynchronisation therapy) with an implantable defibrillator is presented. The CRT stimulated the diaphragm causing a repetitive contraction synchronised with the heart beat, giving the picture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm.
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At 8:52 am on 8 October 2005 a massive earthquake wracked northern Pakistan and Kashmir. Various teams were sent to Islamabad and the disaster region from the UK. We discuss the types of injury patterns seen and recommend that a central register of volunteers should be created to deal with similar situations in the future.
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The Livingston Paediatric Dose Calculator is presented and its use explained. It may be of benefit in emergency departments that do not regularly see large numbers of children requiring drug treatment.
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Changes in the regulation of junior doctors' hours and in the design of medical career pathways have rendered the traditional weekly tutorial ineffective for teaching the core knowledge of emergency medicine. In this paper, the inception of a virtual leaning environment and the development of an online course for F2 doctors in our emergency department are described. The course, delivered in the open source Moodle virtual learning environment, allows us to reliably deliver educational content to all our juniors regardless of shift patterns. It provides insight into the effectiveness of that education, and records the students' activities and achievements to a level far beyond that achievable through traditional teaching methods.