Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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Organ transplantation is associated with improved outcomes for some patients with end-stage organ failure; however, the number of patients awaiting a transplant exceeds the available organs. Recently, an extended role has been proposed for EDs in the recognition and management of potential donors. The present review presents an illustrative case report and considers current transplantation practice in the UK. Ethical and legal considerations, the classification of deceased donors and future developments promising greater numbers of organs are discussed.
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Wellens' syndrome consists of a history suggestive of an acute coronary syndrome and biphasic or deeply inverted T waves in ECG leads V2-V3. A shortcut review was carried out to establish whether this ECG pattern identifies patients with a critical left anterior descending artery stenosis. Six relevant papers were found. The clinical bottom line is that biphasic T-wave inversion in lead V2-V3 should alert the clinician to a probable critical stenosis of the left anterior descending artery.
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Local laser therapy has been suggested as a promising treatment for acute hamstring muscle tears. We carried out a shortcut systematic review to establish whether therapeutic lasers are beneficial for patients with acute hamstring tears. Despite a comprehensive literature search, no studies that were directly relevant to the question could be identified. The clinical bottom line is therefore that there is currently no evidence for the use of any form of laser therapy in the treatment of acute hamstring muscle tears.
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Local laser therapy has been suggested as a promising treatment for acute hamstring muscle tears. We carried out a shortcut systematic review to establish whether therapeutic lasers are beneficial for patients with acute hamstring tears. Despite a comprehensive literature search, no studies that were directly relevant to the question could be identified. The clinical bottom line is therefore that there is currently no evidence for the use of any form of laser therapy in the treatment of acute hamstring muscle tears.