Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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Case Reports Comparative Study
Towards evidence based emergency medicine: best BETs from the Manchester Royal Infirmary. Staples or sutures for repair of scalp laceration in adults.
A short cut review was carried out to establish whether staples are better than sutures for scalp wound repair in adults. Altogether 42 papers were found using the reported search, of which four 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. A clinical bottom line is stated.
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Multicenter Study
Section 136, The Mental Health Act 1983; levels of knowledge among accident and emergency doctors, senior nurses, and police constables.
Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 empowers the police to detain those suspected of being mentally ill in public places, and convey them to a place of safety. In practice, accident and emergency (A&E) departments are often used. The authors assessed levels of knowledge of section 136 between A&E doctors, senior nurses, and police constables. ⋯ The knowledge among A&E staff and the police of this difficult and complex piece of mental health legislation is poor and requires action through formal education and training. This study not only reflects the levels of knowledge within the groups, it may also reflect the different perceptions of each group as to their role and duties within section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983.
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A short cut review was carried out to establish whether there is any evidence to show if topical antibiotic therapy reduces time to remission in acute bacterial conjunctivitis. Altogether 1231 papers were found using the reported search, of which one 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 paper are tabulated. A clinical bottom line is stated.
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Comparative Study
Triage decisions of prehospital emergency health care providers, using a multiple casualty scenario paper exercise.
To examine the accuracy of theoretical triage decision making among emergency prehospital health care professionals, using a multiple casualty paper exercise. ⋯ There is little difference in the accuracy of triage decision making between the professional groups, with doctors and nurses scoring marginally better than paramedics. The rates of over triage are high posing the risk of overwhelming available resources further. Under triage rates are also high, with potentially life threatening conditions going unrecognised. However, some margin of error may be accounted for by the untested validity of the triage sieve methodology.
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Biography Historical Article
Medicine in the heart of the Antarctic: 1908-2001.
Prehospital care in the United Kingdom rarely lasts more than a few hours other than in exceptional circumstances (for example, mountain and cave rescue, oil rigs). In other parts of the world hospitals may be much more distant and in expeditions to remote areas, prehospital care may extend to days or even weeks. When this occurs, the boundaries between primary care and prehospital care blur.