Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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Anticoagulated patients represent an important and increasing proportion of the patients with head trauma attending the ED, but there is no international consensus for their appropriate investigation and management. International guidelines vary and are largely based on a small number of studies, which provide poor-quality evidence for the management of patients taking warfarin. This article provides an overview of the clinical research evidence for CT scanning head-injured patients taking warfarin and a discussion of interpretation of risk and acceptable risk. ⋯ There is good evidence for a more selective scanning approach to patients with head injuries taking warfarin than is currently recommended by most guidelines. Specifically, patients without any head injury-related symptoms and GCS score 15 have a reduced risk of adverse outcome and may not need to be scanned. We argue that there is evidence to support an individualised approach to decision to CT scan in mild head injuries on warfarin and that clinicians should feel able to discuss risks with patients and sometimes decide not to scan.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Accuracy of NEXUS II head injury decision rule in children: a prospective PREDICT cohort study.
The National Emergency X-Radiography Utilisation Study II (NEXUS II) clinical decision rule (CDR) can be used to optimise the use of CT in children with head trauma. We set out to externally validate this CDR in a large cohort. ⋯ NEXUS II had high sensitivity, similar to the derivation study. However, approximately half of unimaged patients were positive for NEXUS II risk criteria; this may result in an increased CT rate in a setting with high clinician accuracy.
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The number of EDs visit is on the increase, and the pressure on EDs is of significant concern worldwide. The usage of EDs by parents of children with minor illness is an important and still unresolved problem causing a burden to healthcare services. The aim of this study was to review the literature to summarise parental reasons for visiting ED for children with minor illness. ⋯ This review identified some of the reasons why parents bring their children to the ED for minor illnesses highlighting the multifaceted nature of this problem. Understanding parental reasons behind their choice to use the ED may help us better design targeted interventions to reduce unnecessary ED visits and alleviate the burden on overstretched healthcare services. This review may help inform emergency care policy makers, researchers and healthcare staff to understand parents' reasons for visiting the ED, to better meet their healthcare needs.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Testing of a novel Valsalva Assist Device with supine and modified positions in healthy volunteers.
The Valsalva manoeuvre (VM) is used to treat supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) by inducing a vagal response (drop in HR). There is debate as to the best position in which to carry out the VM and how the strain should be delivered in practice. We aimed to compare vagal responses induced with supine and modified VMs using strains delivered with a standardised manometer or novel Valsalva Assist Device (VAD), a simple device to provide resistance to exhalation. ⋯ Modified VM was associated with a greater drop in HR than a supine VM with no increase in adverse events in healthy volunteers. The VAD can be used to safely generate the recommended VM strain pressure, but produced a smaller drop in HR compared with a manometer and requires modification to enable the recommended strain duration to be achieved consistently.