Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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To determine the ED consumers' level of understanding, acceptance and desire for knowledge regarding the Australasian Triage Scale (ATS), and to determine the ED staff's attitudes towards open provision of ATS information. ⋯ Patients do not understand the ATS well, and would like to be provided with more specific initial and ongoing information, but staff uncertainty needs to be overcome before consumers' wishes can be better addressed.
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To define the presenting symptoms and clinical progress of surgically proven cases of ovarian torsion presenting to a tertiary women's hospital. ⋯ The diagnosis of ovarian torsion remains challenging. Clinical characteristics lack sensitivity and specificity and ultrasound diagnosis is not definitive. Laparoscopy remains the investigation of choice. Despite delays in diagnosis this study demonstrates relatively high ovarian salvage rates compared with most published data.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2005
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudySimple lightweight disposable continuous positive airways pressure mask to effectively treat acute pulmonary oedema: randomized controlled trial.
To compare the novel Boussignac valve continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) delivery mask and a standard closed-circuit Drager CF800 CPAP system in the management of acute pulmonary oedema (APO) patients. ⋯ The Boussignac valve system may be an effective lightweight disposable method of delivering CPAP to patients with APO. It appears to perform as effectively as much larger, more expensive and less transportable equipment.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2005
Clinical TrialEmergency physicians can reliably assess emergency department patient cardiac output using the USCOM continuous wave Doppler cardiac output monitor.
1 To develop a training package for ultrasonic cardiac output monitor (USCOM) cardiac output assessments and determine the number of proctored studies necessary for skill acquisition. 2 To develop criteria for acceptance of cardiac output results obtained with the USCOM. 3 To evaluate the reliability of USCOM cardiac output assessments in the ED. ⋯ Emergency physicians with no prior ultrasonographic experience can be trained to obtain reliable cardiac output estimations upon conscious ED patients with the USCOM over the course of 20 patient assessments.
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Recreational use of amphetamines is common in Australia and New Zealand when compared with other developed nations. The clinical effects are variable because of the potential of these drugs to increase the proportion of different biogenic amines in the central nervous system (CNS). The substances affected are adrenaline, noradrenaline, serotonin and dopamine. Movement disorders represent one of the less common presentations of amphetamine toxicity but one that health care workers should be aware of nonetheless.