Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2013
Intern underperformance is detected more frequently in emergency medicine rotations.
To determine the frequency and nature of intern underperformance as documented on in-training assessment forms. ⋯ The prevalence of underperformance among interns is low, although higher than previously suggested. Emergency medicine detects relatively more interns in difficulty than other rotations.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2013
ReviewComparison of emergency medical services systems in the pan-Asian resuscitation outcomes study countries: Report from a literature review and survey.
Asia-Pacific countries have unique prehospital emergency care or emergency medical services (EMS) systems, which are different from European or Anglo-American models. We aimed to compare the EMS systems of eight Asia-Pacific countries/regions as part of the Pan Asian Resuscitation Outcomes Study (PAROS), to provide a basis for future comparative studies across systems of care. ⋯ We found variation in the EMS systems across the eight Asia-Pacific countries/regions studied. The findings will inform the construction of a multinational Asia-Pacific research network for future comparative studies and could serve as a model for international research networks.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2013
Introduction of an N-acetylcysteine weight-based dosing chart reduces prescription errors in the treatment of paracetamol poisoning.
Under- or overdosing of N-acetylcysteine (NAC), when used to treat paracetamol toxicity, is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. This study evaluated the effect of a weight-based dosing chart (WBDC) introduced to decrease NAC prescription errors. ⋯ The introduction of a WBDC did not produce a clinically significant reduction in major NAC prescription error rates (as pre-defined in this study); however, there was a clear trend towards a reduction. The WBDC significantly reduced total and minor NAC prescription error rates.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2013
Association between emergency department length of stay and outcome of patients admitted either to a ward, intensive care or high dependency unit.
To evaluate the association of ED length of stay (EDLOS) and outcome of patients admitted to a ward, intensive care (ICU) or stepdown (high dependency) unit (SDU). ⋯ EDLOS was greater for ED to ward patients, and of the ED to ward patients who died. At an EDLOS of 4 h there were fewer ICU, in comparison with ward, patients remaining in the ED. Future studies that report on EDLOS should differentiate for patients admitted from the ED to the ward, ICU or SDU.