Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Although human interaction with leeches is common in Australia, there is little documented literature on ocular injuries as a result of contact with a leech. We report a case of ocular leech attachment and a previously undocumented method of removal with hypertonic saline solution.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2009
ReviewReview article: Efficacy and safety of methoxyflurane analgesia in the emergency department and prehospital setting.
This article reviews the evidence for the analgesic efficacy of methoxyflurane in both prehospital and ED settings, as well as the adverse event profile associated with methoxyflurane use. Although there are no published controlled trials of methoxyflurane in sub-anaesthetic doses, available data indicate that it is an efficacious analgesic. There is inadequate evidence regarding its use as an agent for procedural pain. Despite the potential for renal impairment evident when it was used in anaesthetic doses, no significant adverse effects have been reported in the literature, neither in patients nor occupationally, when the dose used is limited to that currently recommended.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2009
Comparative StudyDoes emergency department workload adversely influence timely analgesia?
The impact of ED overcrowding on delay to analgesia has not been well studied. Our objective was to determine if ED workload influenced time to analgesia (TTA). ⋯ No relationship between workload and TTA was observed; however, there were delays to analgesia associated with age, non-English-speaking background and delay to pain assessment.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2009
Comparative StudyImproving adherence to asthma clinical guidelines and discharge documentation from emergency departments: implementation of a dynamic and integrated electronic decision support system.
The authors previously developed a dynamic and integrated electronic decision support system called ACAFE (Asthma Clinical Assessment Form and Electronic decision support). The objective of this present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of this system on asthma management and documentation in an ED. ⋯ The use of this decision support system in patients presenting to emergency with asthma was associated with improvements in clinical documentation and discharge management plans. Electronic decision support systems developed collaboratively with clinicians should play an important part of system-wide efforts to improve guideline adherence and compliance in ED.