Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2015
Survey of point of care ultrasound usage in emergency medicine by Vietnamese physicians.
Emergency medicine (EM) is rapidly developing as a specialty in Vietnam. Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) is currently taught as part of formal EM curriculums though limited literature exists to describe current POCUS usage in EDs in Vietnam. A survey was developed to understand current POCUS utilisation and guide future training efforts. ⋯ Regular access to ultrasound machines increases the frequency of POCUS usage in EDs in Vietnam. POCUS training was not as clearly associated with POCUS usage as those without formal training were equally likely to use POCUS as those with formal training. No single POCUS application stood out as strongly preferred by physicians in this survey.
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2015
Dispatcher-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation protocol improves diagnosis and resuscitation recommendations for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Despite recent efforts, most people are not trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), which has a major impact on survival following cardiac arrest (CA). We have set up a dispatcher-assisted CPR protocol at our call centre, based on international guidelines issued in 2010. The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of this protocol on CA diagnosis and quantity of recommendations given by telephone dispatchers to untrained witnesses. ⋯ Implementation of a dispatcher-assisted CPR protocol was efficient in improving both CA diagnosis and CPR recommendations given to untrained witnesses for out-of-hospital CA with a very short time of dispatcher training. It is a simple and efficacious measure, at no additional cost and with the promises of improving prognosis following cardiac arrest in a centre not equipped with computerised dispatcher support programmes.
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2015
Best-practice pain management in the emergency department: A cluster-randomised, controlled, intervention trial.
We aimed to provide 'adequate analgesia' (which decreases the pain score by ≥2 and to <4 [0-10 scale]) and determine the effect on patient satisfaction. ⋯ The 'adequate analgesia' intervention significantly improved patient satisfaction. It provides a simple and efficient target in the pursuit of best-practice ED pain management.
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2015
Randomised control trial of humidified high flow nasal cannulae versus standard oxygen in the emergency department.
The aim of the study was to determine if oxygen delivered through humidified high flow nasal cannulae (HHFNC) reduced the need for escalation in ventilation management and work of breathing in the ED patients presenting with acute undifferentiated shortness of breath compared with standard oxygen therapy. ⋯ The use of high flow nasal cannula oxygenation was associated with improved respiratory state in selected patients presenting to the ED with acute undifferentiated shortness of breath.