Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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Acute coronary syndromes remain a leading cause of preventable early deaths. However, previous studies have indicated that paramedics' compliance with chest pain protocols is suboptimal and that many patients do not receive the benefits of appropriate prehospital treatment. ⋯ Prehospital treatment with oxygen, aspirin, sublingual GTN and ECG monitoring remains underused by paramedics, even though only a small number of patients had documented contraindications to their use. The small number of patients who received a prehospital 12-lead ECG is a cause of particular concern and suggests that incomplete patient assessment may contribute to undertreatment. Further provision of training and equipment is necessary to enable paramedics to more accurately assess and treat patients with acute coronary syndromes.
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Triage is a process that is critical to the effective management of modern emergency departments. Triage systems aim, not only to ensure clinical justice for the patient, but also to provide an effective tool for departmental organisation, monitoring and evaluation. Over the last 20 years, triage systems have been standardised in a number of countries and efforts made to ensure consistency of application. ⋯ It is timely to accept this diversity, what is agreed, and what may be agreeable. It is time to develop and test an International Triage Scale (ITS) which is supported by an international collaborative approach towards a triage research agenda. This agenda would seek to further develop application and moderating tools and to utilise the scales for international benchmarking and research programmes.
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A study was undertaken to characterise how doctors in emergency medicine (EM), acute medicine (AM) and critical care (ICU) in the UK, USA and Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) approach the initial resuscitative care of patients with severe sepsis. ⋯ Reported management of early sepsis varies between specialities and countries, and the responses do not follow SSC guidelines. Concerns relate to knowledge, attitudes and resources.
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Recombinant activated human coagulation factor VII (rFVIIa), an intravascular strategy to promote clotting, is being used as an adjunct to surgical control of bleeding in combat trauma patients. ⋯ Survival of seriously injured combat casualties was good, although identical to that of a control group. Methodological limitations of this retrospective study preclude making firm conclusions about the effectiveness of rFVIIa. Future controlled studies are needed for safety and efficacy testing of rFVIIa in combat trauma patients.
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The objective of this study was to survey medical students for a measurable opinion or knowledge increase in prehospital care after a fourth-year clerkship in emergency medicine (EM). The goal of the mandatory prehospital care aspect of the clerkship was twofold: to diminish the prehospital knowledge gap in medical school by teaching students about prehospital protocols and disaster medicine and to increase student interest. ⋯ We found medical students developed a significantly improved understanding of prehospital care. Without extraordinary effort, academic emergency departments could easily include a significant experience and education within fourth-year EM clerkships.