Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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Randomized Controlled Trial Observational Study
Biomechanical analysis of force distribution in one-handed and two-handed adult chest compression: a randomised crossover observational study.
The standard method of chest compression for adults is a two-handed procedure. One-handed external chest compression (ECC) is used in some situations such as during transport of patients who had an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, but the quality of one-handed ECC is still not well known. The distribution of force is related to the quality of chest compression and may affect the risk of injury. This study aimed to determine the differences in the quality and potential safety concern between one-handed ECC and two- handed ECC. ⋯ The quality of one-handed ECC, based on depth and recoil, is worse than that of standard two-handed ECC. The pressure and force distribution of one-handed ECC result in greater ulnar pronation of the hand than that of two-handed ECC. One-handed ECC more easily causes operator fatigue. Acknowledging these findings and adjusting training for one-handed ECC would potentially improve the quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation during transport.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Prehospital continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for acute respiratory distress: a randomised controlled trial.
To compare the efficacy of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) versus usual care for prehospital patients with severe respiratory distress. ⋯ The use of prehospital CPAP by EMS paramedics reduced dyspnoea and tachypnoea in patients with acute respiratory distress but did not impact hospital length of stay.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Randomised controlled trial comparing immobilisation in above-knee plaster of Paris to controlled ankle motion boots in undisplaced paediatric spiral tibial fractures.
Management of common childhood spiral tibial fractures, known as toddler's fractures, has not significantly changed in recent times despite the availability of immobilisation devices known as controlled ankle motion (CAM) boots. We compared standard therapy with these devices on quality-of-life measures. ⋯ Immobilisation of toddler's fractures in a CAM boot allows faster return to activities of daily living and weight-bearing without any effect on fracture healing.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Cardiac Arrest Nurse Leadership (CANLEAD) trial: a simulation-based randomised controlled trial implementation of a new cardiac arrest role to facilitate cognitive offload for medical team leaders.
Medical team leaders in cardiac arrest teams are routinely subjected to disproportionately high levels of cognitive burden. This simulation-based study explored whether the introduction of a dedicated 'nursing team leader' is an effective way of cognitively offloading medical team leaders of cardiac arrest teams. It was hypothesised that reduced cognitive load may allow medical team leaders to focus on high-level tasks resulting in improved team performance. ⋯ Dedicated nursing team leadership in simulation based cardiac arrest teams resulted in cognitive offload for medical leaders and improved team performance.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
EarLy Exercise in blunt Chest wall Trauma: a feasibility trial (ELECT Trial).
The aim was to complete a feasibility study that would test the methods of the main trial, that will investigate whether early thoracic and shoulder girdle exercises reduce chronic pain in patients with blunt chest wall trauma, when compared with normal care. ⋯ We have demonstrated that a fully powered randomised clinical trial of the EarLy Exercise in blunt Chest wall Trauma Trial is feasible.