Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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A short cut review was carried out to establish whether leg crossing prevents transient loss of consciousness in patients known to have orthostatic hypotension. 9 papers presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these best papers are tabulated. It is concluded that leg crossing can help reduce the incidence of transient loss of consciousness in patients with orthostatic hypotension.
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A short cut review was carried out to establish whether drinking fluids was better than not drinking fluids at preventing exercise associated abdominal pain (stitch) in runners. 112 papers were found using the reported searches, of which 2 presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these best papers are tabulated. It is concluded that drinking fluids before running is associated with stitch.
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A short cut review was carried out to establish whether intervention and follow up of patients with toe phalanx fractures is better than no treatment at reducing time to return to normal activity and need for surgical intervention. 40 papers were found using the reported searches, of which 1 presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of this best paper is tabulated. It is concluded that there is no evidence to determine whether intervention of any type improves outcome in toe phalanx fractures.
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Disturbances of the level of awareness are a frequent motive of attendance to emergency departments where the initial assessment and management will determine the direction of their outcome. The syndrome of catatonia must be taken into consideration and although it is normally associated with psychiatric diagnoses, it is also very often found in a great variety of neurological and medical conditions. Due to the clinical complexity of catatonia, there are still difficulties in its correct identification and initial management, something that leads to diagnostic delays and increased morbidity and mortality. In this article, a review of the literature on catatonia is presented with the aim of assisting emergency department doctors (and clinicians assessing patients in emergency situations) in considering this condition in the differential diagnosis of stupor due to its high frequency of association with organic pathology.