Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2005
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical TrialA double-blind, randomized trial of intravenous versus intramuscular antivenom for red-back spider envenoming.
To compare the efficacy of intravenous versus intramuscular antivenom (AV) in the treatment of Red-back spider (RBS) envenoming. ⋯ Red-back spider antivenom was initially effective by both i.m. and i.v. routes. The study generates the hypothesis that at 24 h, significantly more patients are pain-free with i.v. administration. Definitive recommendations on the optimal route of administration of RBS AV await the results of further studies.
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Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2005
Challenges in arranging interhospital transfers from a small regional hospital: an observational study.
To describe the process of interhospital transfer from a small regional hospital ED. ⋯ There is wide variation in the time taken and the number of phone calls to arrange an interhospital transfer, with some patient groups requiring more effort to organize a transfer.
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Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2005
Boarder belly: splenic injuries resulting from ski and snowboarding accidents.
Snowboarding has increased in popularity worldwide, with an associated increase in injuries suffered by its participants with a significant proportion of these injuries being severe. We sought to understand the risk of sustaining a splenic injury in snowboarders as compared to skiers, and whether there are noteworthy differences in their characteristics at hospital admission. ⋯ The risk of sustaining an injury of the spleen resulting from blunt abdominal trauma while snowboarding is significantly greater than the risk while downhill skiing. Male snowboarders have a significantly higher risk of splenic injury than female snowboarders. In the majority of cases, snowboarders sustained their injuries as a result of falls or jumps.
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Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2005
Patient perceptions of privacy infringements in an emergency department.
To identify the nature, severity, impact, frequency and risk factors for patient perceived privacy infringements in the ED of St Vincent's Health Melbourne with 32,000 emergency attendances per annum. ⋯ Patient privacy incidents occur frequently in an ED, risk factors being length of stay and absence of a walled cubicle. Patients who have their conversations overheard are more likely to withhold information from staff and less likely to have had their expectations of privacy met.
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Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2005
The status of emergency medicine in Makira Ulawa Province, Solomon Islands.
This Perspective reports on the challenges that face a solo doctor in a provincial hospital in the Solomon Islands following the civil disturbances of 1998-2003. The Health Service is seriously constrained by a paucity of funding, supplies and personnel. ⋯ Further training of nurses, midwives and doctors is required. Emergency medicine, as a generalist discipline, provides a foundation to improve the delivery of care to the acutely ill and injured in these circumstances.