Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Avian influenza is a panzootic and recurring human epidemic with pandemic potential. Pandemic requirements for a viral pathogen are: a novel virus must emerge against which the general population has little or no immunity; the new virus must be able to replicate in humans and cause serious illness; and the new virus must be efficiently transmitted from person to person. At present, only the first two conditions have been met. ⋯ Other medical commodities including ventilators, hospital beds and intensive care units remain less well prioritized in national plans. These resources will play virtually no role in care of the overwhelming majority of patients worldwide in a pandemic. Prehospital care, triage and acute care all require additional professional standardization for the high patient volumes anticipated in a pandemic.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2006
Training of disaster managers at a masters degree level: from emergency care to managerial control.
The world has faced huge disasters over the last few decades and concerns have been expressed by nearly all international agencies involved that there is a scarcity of managerial skills to deal with the mitigation and management of disasters. Disaster risks are also on the increase throughout Africa and Southern Africa because of changes in the development process, settlement patterns and conflicts in the region. Emergency physicians are but one important resource in dealing with disasters. ⋯ The MPH is aimed at preparing professionals from health and allied fields to play leadership roles in the management, improvement and evaluation of health and the health-care system. Emergency physicians have an important role to play in the development of disaster medicine and disaster management programmes and it is important that they engage in this activity, collaborating with colleagues of various other disciplines as appropriate. The following paper outlines the background to the programme and the current programme.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2006
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyRandomized, single blinded control trial comparing haemolysis rate between two cannula aspiration techniques.
Blood aspiration through i.v. cannulae is a common ED sampling method. It is, however, associated with increased haemolysis rates when compared with direct venipuncture. Our ED utilizes two common methods of sampling through cannulae. The aim of the present study was to examine the haemolysis rates for these two techniques. ⋯ The rate of haemolysis is unrelated to the technique of blood aspiration. However, haemolysis rates increase significantly with perceived difficulty of blood draw.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2006
Evaluation of the impact of a paediatric procedural sedation credentialing programme on quality of care.
The aim of the present study is to describe changes in documentation, risk assessment and patient care resulting from implementation of a credentialing process for medical and nursing staff in paediatric procedural sedation (PPS) in two EDs - one an urban mixed ED and the other a specialist paediatric ED. ⋯ The implementation of a PPS credentialing programme into these two EDs resulted in significant improvements in risk assessment, monitoring and documentation of important information related to safe PPS. These improvements should result in improved quality and safety of PPS.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2006
ReviewState of play: clearing the thoracolumbar spine in blunt trauma victims.
The present article reviews the clinical and imaging clearance of the thoracic and lumbar spines of blunt trauma victims and the evolution of these strategies with the use of new imaging technologies. ⋯ Thoracolumbar spine screening is best done using reformatted images acquired when scanning the chest and abdomen of high-risk multi-trauma patients. If computed tomography is not clinically indicated for investigation of other injuries then plain films are the first line investigation.