Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2005
Comparative StudyHow accurate is weight estimation in the emergency department?
To determine the accuracy of medical staff, nursing staff and patients for estimating weight in an ED population. ⋯ Patients are generally accurate in estimating their true weight and health care workers showed only moderate accuracy. Where possible, drug dose calculations should be based on measured weight and if this is not possible, patient estimate of weight should be sought. Health care worker estimation should be used only when this is not possible.
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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.