Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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A shortcut review was carried out to establish whether intravenous lidocaine is effective in the management of renal colic. Two studies were directly relevant to the question. ⋯ The clinical bottom line is that intravenous lidocaine may be of some benefit in renal colic. However, there are other maybe more effective drugs available.
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Early warning scores are frequently used in UK adult emergency departments (EDs) and are gaining traction in paediatric emergency care. Like many innovations with inherent face validity, they have great appeal to clinicians, managers and commissioners. However, it is important to ensure unintended consequences and balancing measures are mitigated. We review the background to their development and introduction in the ED, the evidence for their usefulness, their limitations in our field and areas for further research.
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We undertook a systematic review of all published stroke identification instruments to describe their performance characteristics when used prospectively in any clinical setting. ⋯ Available data do not allow a strong recommendation to be made about the superiority of a stroke recognition instrument. Choice of instrument depends on intended purpose, and the consequences of a false-negative or false-positive result.
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We undertook a systematic review of all published stroke identification instruments to describe their performance characteristics when used prospectively in any clinical setting. ⋯ Available data do not allow a strong recommendation to be made about the superiority of a stroke recognition instrument. Choice of instrument depends on intended purpose, and the consequences of a false-negative or false-positive result.