Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
-
A number of emergency departments have introduced non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NIV) and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for patients presenting with acute respiratory failure. It is thought that early non-invasive respiratory support will avoid the need for invasive ventilation in many cases. ⋯ NIV and CPAP were also found to be effective in some other causes of acute respiratory failure. There is a role for non-invasive respiratory support in emergency departments.
-
Terrorist attacks in Israel cause mass events with varying numbers of casualties. A study was undertaken to analyse the medical response to an event which occurred on 17 April 2006 near the central bus station, Tel Aviv, Israel. Lessons are drawn concerning the management of the event, primary triage, evacuation priorities and the rate and characteristics of casualty arrival at the nearby hospitals. ⋯ Rapid accumulation of EMS vehicles, effective primary triage between urgent and non-urgent casualties and primary distribution between five hospitals enabled rapid conclusion of the event, both at the scene and at the receiving hospitals.
-
Myocardial infarction (MI) typically presents with chest pain, dyspnoea and pain in the left arm. In some cases, syncope may ensue and the patients can have blunt trauma to the abdomen, chest or head, which may be overlooked by the doctors and the patient, with more concern focusing on infarction alone. Moreover, signs of trauma may not appear until late in the course of hospitalisation. ⋯ Administration of thrombolytic treatment led to a hepatic haemorrhage. This life-threatening complication might have been prevented by a bedside ultrasonography performed by an emergency medicine doctor. This effective use of time can be remembered as "time is muscle".