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 StudyEmergency airway management in Australian and New Zealand emergency departments: A multicentre descriptive study of 3710 emergency intubations.
The aim of this study was to describe the practice of endotracheal intubation across a range of Australasian EDs. ⋯ Australasian ED doctors, predominantly specialist emergency physicians or trainees, perform the majority of ED intubations using rapid sequence induction as their preferred technique mainly for medical indications. First attempt success rate was not different between different types of EDs, and is comparable published international data. Complications are not infrequent, and are comparable to other published series. Monitoring and reporting of ED intubation practice will enable continued improvements in the safety of this high-risk procedure.