Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2021
Unintended consequences: The impact of airway management modifications introduced in response to COVID-19 on intubations in a tertiary centre emergency department.
In response to COVID-19, we introduced and examined the effect of a raft of modifications to standard practice on adverse events and first-attempt success (FAS) associated with ED intubation. ⋯ This raft of modifications to ED intubation was associated with significant increase in hypoxia despite a very high FAS rate and more senior first laryngoscopist.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2021
Effect of tourniquet time on whole blood point-of-care lactate concentration: A healthy human volunteer study.
Lactate is frequently utilised in clinical practice. Some have concerns that tourniquet application for venous blood collection may falsely elevate venous lactate. The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of tourniquet time on varying venous lactate concentrations. ⋯ In the present study tourniquet application for blood collection did not significantly increase lactate concentration. Hence, clinically a raised venous lactate concentration should not be attributed to prolonged tourniquet application.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2021
Development, implementation and evaluation of a process to recognise and reduce aggression and violence in an Australian emergency department.
In 2018, we developed and implemented a novel approach to recognition and response to occupational violence and aggression (OVA). It included routine use of the Brøset Violence Checklist for all ED patients integrated with a score-based notification and response framework. The present study evaluated the impact of the new process on staff knowledge, perceptions and confidence regarding OVA in ED and the rate of security events related to OVA. ⋯ A process including routine OVA risk assessment and a notification and response framework reduced unplanned security events due to OVA and increased staff confidence in recognition and management of OVA. This approach may be suitable for use more broadly in ED.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2021
Investigating the prevalence of intimate partner violence victimisation in women presenting to the emergency department in suicidal crisis.
To investigate the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) and frequency of victimisation questioning by hospital staff in women presenting to EDs for suicide-related complaints and injuries. ⋯ Findings suggest a large proportion of women seeking support for suicide in the ED are affected by IPV, although few are asked about abuse experiences. Victimisation is associated with complex health issues and heightened mortality risk, which carry important implications for patient-care. Findings support routine ED screening and can be applied to stratify risk within IPV responses.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2021
Where are children seen in Australian emergency departments? Implications for research efforts.
With most paediatric emergency research in Australia conducted at tertiary EDs, it is important to understand how presentations differ between those at tertiary paediatric EDs and all other EDs. ⋯ The present study identified key areas of difference in paediatric presentations between tertiary paediatric EDs and other EDs. It is vital to broaden paediatric ED research beyond tertiary paediatric centres, to ensure relevance and generalisability.