Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2019
ReviewReview article: Non-fatal strangulation: Hidden injuries, hidden risks.
Non-fatal strangulation (NFS) can be a cause of severe injury. However, the prevalence and rates of injuries from NFS are unknown, as few victims present to medical attention after strangulation. As up to 40% of fatal strangulations have no external signs, and the majority of surviving victims have few or minor injuries, finding those people severely injured remains challenging. ⋯ A search of the literature was carried out with the following terms: Nonfatal strangulation (10), Nonfatal strangulation (17), 'Strangulation injuries' (19), 'Manual strangulation' (92) - laboratory testing eliminated, and 'choking game'. The PubMed database was used first, followed by the collections of Monash University and the Strangulation Institute (as some articles were too old to find electronically). This article summarises the injuries that can occur following strangulation and discusses the quality of the evidence thus far.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2019
Patient attitudes towards analgesia and their openness to non-pharmacological methods such as acupuncture in the emergency department.
To investigate patient attitudes to analgesia, opioids and non-pharmacological analgesia, including acupuncture, in the ED. ⋯ Most patients were generally satisfied with ED analgesia and were open to non-pharmacologic analgesia including acupuncture.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2019
Randomized Controlled TrialUltrasound-guided femoral nerve blocks are not superior to ultrasound-guided fascia iliaca blocks for fractured neck of femur.
To determine if an ultrasound-guided femoral nerve block (FNB) is superior to an ultrasound-guided fascia iliaca compartment block (FICB) in providing pain relief to patients with a neck of femur or proximal femoral fracture. ⋯ Ultrasound-guided FNB is not superior to ultrasound-guided FICB, with both facilitating an equivalent analgesia effect in patients with a neck of femur or proximal femur fracture.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2019
Modifying emergency department electronic prescribing for outpatient opioid analgesia.
The aim of this study was to examine how changing the electronic ordering sequences for opioid analgesics affected ED outpatient prescribing, and subsequent unused opioid tablets remaining in the community available for diversion. ⋯ Modification of an ED electronic prescribing system reduced overall quantities of opioid analgesics supplied and subsequently stored in the community but did not change the proportion of patients (>50%) who reported using half or less of their prescribed opioid medication.