Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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Prehospital care in developing countries is severely lacking. Few countries can afford the relatively expensive formalised Western model of a prehospital emergency medical system. The WHO has highlighted the development of layperson first responder programmes as the most basic step in the development of a functioning prehospital system. ⋯ Both faculty and candidates deemed the course a success and plans for formal evaluation of knowledge and skill retention are underway. Future plans are to continue the training using local instructors and in rural districts.
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One of the main reasons for contact of psychiatric patients with Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments is deliberate self-harm. The situation is often complicated by the patient's ambivalence about treatment. Kerrie Wooltorton was one such patient who presented to an A&E department after having self-harmed by taking a fatal dose of antifreeze. ⋯ Alternatively, any decision to follow the Advance Decision has to be objectively supported by evidence. The Mental Capacity Act itself allows for overriding the patient's wishes if certain criteria under the Mental Health Act are met. This route was not explored in the Wooltorton case and this is the main lesson to learn.
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Basic life support (BLS) by laypersons is essential for surviving sudden cardiac death in the community. The present study investigates BLS skill knowledge of German laypersons in a public community place and examines the effect of the interval between the last BLS course and present skills in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). ⋯ The present study demonstrates that current CPR guidelines for BLS are not followed by laypersons in a medium-sized town in Germany. These data suggest that CPR refresher courses as well as implication of BLS guidelines in daily life are warranted.
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The publication rate of full text papers following an abstract presentation at a medical conference is variable, and few studies have examined the situation with respect to international emergency medicine conferences. This retrospective study aimed to identify the publication rate of abstracts presented at the 2006 International Conference on Emergency Medicine (ICEM) held in Halifax, Canada. The full text publication rate was 33.2%, similar to previous emergency medicine meetings. English language barriers may play a role in the low publication rate seen.