Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2005
ReviewPrimary care patients in the emergency department: who are they? A review of the definition of the 'primary care patient' in the emergency department.
To review the definition of 'primary care' and 'inappropriate' patients in ED and develop a generally acceptable working definition of a 'primary care' presentation in ED. ⋯ This definition can be applied either prospectively or retrospectively, depending on the purpose. Appropriateness must be considered in light of a legitimate role for ED in primary care and the balance of resources between primary care and emergency medicine in local settings.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2005
Case ReportsUnusual cause of sudden onset headache: spontaneous intracranial hypotension.
Spontaneous intracranial hypotension is a very distinctive but unusual cause of acute headache. The postural nature of the headache can be easily overlooked in the celerity to exclude subarachnoid haemorrhage. We describe the clinical and radiological features of a case that emphasizes some of the diagnostic difficulties. An approach to management and treatment for this condition is outlined.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2005
Case ReportsDefinitive management of acute cardiac tamponade secondary to blunt trauma.
Blunt cardiac injuries are a leading cause of fatalities following motor-vehicle accidents. Injury to the heart is involved in 20% of road traffic deaths. Structural cardiac injuries (i.e. chamber rupture or perforation) carry a high mortality rate and patients rarely survive long enough to reach hospital. ⋯ The presence of normal clinical signs or normal ECG studies does not exclude tamponade. In recent years the widespread availability and use of ultrasound for the initial assessment of severely injured patients has facilitated the early diagnosis of cardiac tamponade and associated cardiac injuries. Two cases of survival from blunt traumatic cardiac trauma are described in the present paper to demonstrate survivability in the context of rapid assessment and intervention.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2005
Self-reported antibiotic compliance: emergency department to general practitioner follow up.
General practitioner (GP) follow up is important in the management of patients who are discharged from an ED. ⋯ The majority of patients who were seen and discharged from the ED with an antibiotic prescription were able to nominate a GP and this was associated with improved follow-up compliance and antibiotic compliance. Improving follow-up compliance and thus the quality of patient care would involve identifying those patients who present to the ED who are unable to nominate a GP.