Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2017
Review Meta AnalysisReview article: Does acupuncture have a role in providing analgesia in the emergency setting? A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Acupuncture might offer a novel approach to improve ED pain management. Our primary aim was to assess the efficacy of acupuncture in the emergency setting while secondary objectives were to explore its suitability through its side-effect profile, patient satisfaction, cost, administration time and points used. Seven databases and Google Scholar were searched up to 31 July 2016 using MeSH descriptors for three overarching themes concerning acupuncture, pain management and emergency medicine. ⋯ We conclude that for some acute pain conditions in the ED, acupuncture was clinically effective compared to sham and non-inferior to conventional therapy. As an adjunct, limited data was found indicating superiority to standard analgesia care. Further studies will elucidate the most appropriate acupuncture training and techniques, use as an adjunct and the clinical situations in which they can be best applied.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2017
Multicenter Study Observational StudyAlcohol-related presentations to the Royal Perth Hospital Emergency Department: A prospective study.
To quantify and describe alcohol-related presentations to our ED, as part of the binational Alcohol Harm in Emergency Departments study. ⋯ 15.2% of patient presentations over the study week were alcohol-related. These patients were more likely to present with injury; one in five having injuries suspected to be caused by a third party affected by alcohol. This is a significant public health problem.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2017
De-labelling self-reported penicillin allergy within the emergency department through the use of skin tests and oral drug provocation testing.
Self-reported penicillin allergy is common among patients attending the ED, but is a poor predictor of true immunoglobulin E-mediated hypersensitivity to penicillin. We hypothesise that with a combination of skin testing and drug provocation testing, selected patients can be safely de-labelled of their allergy. ⋯ Selected patients in the ED who self-report an allergy to penicillin can be safely tested there for penicillin allergy, using skin tests and oral drug provocation testing. This testing allows a significant de-labelling of penicillin allergy, with the majority of these patients able to tolerate penicillin without incident.