Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2021
Is COVID-19 the straw that broke the back of the emergency nursing workforce?
To explore the intentions of Australian emergency nurses to remain in or leave emergency nursing after the first year of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. ⋯ The data suggest that approximately 1 year after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, a high proportion of ED nurses intend to leave ED nursing within 5 years, which will exacerbate pre-existing shortages. Active strategies to address this are urgently needed.
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2021
Observational StudyCharacteristics, presentation and outcomes of music festival patrons with stimulant drug-induced serotonin toxicity.
A large number of stimulant drug-associated deaths at music festivals in Australia were reported during the southern hemisphere summer of 2018-2019. This led to the prehospital deployment of healthcare professional-led critical care response teams. We aimed to describe the characteristics, clinical presentation, management and outcomes of music festival patrons with stimulant drug-induced serotonin toxicity managed using this model during the study period. ⋯ Severe illness was associated with a high incidence of end-organ impairment. A high proportion of patients without severe disease were able to be successfully managed at the event without transport to hospital. No deaths are reported in this series.