Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2022
Prevalence and characteristics of frequent presenters to Auburn Hospital emergency department.
Frequent presenters (FPs) to the ED are common and contribute to ED overcrowding. Our aim was to identify the proportion of FPs over a 12-month period and to investigate the sociodemographic, clinical and attendance characteristics of FPs. ⋯ FPs represent a significant proportion of ED visits, yet a small proportion of ED patients. Our findings suggest that identifying ways to provide targeted services to older FPs may reduce the overall rates. The differences between language groups and FP highlights the importance of social context and culture when developing targeted interventions.
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This qualitative study explores whether Australian mass casualty and disaster plans explicitly acknowledge or implicitly draw upon ethical principles. ⋯ In Australian government documents for mass casualty and disaster management, although ethics is definitely considered, the ethical principles on which decisions are made are rarely explicit. Mass casualty and disaster decision-making could be improved by making the ethical basis for decision-making clear, transparent and comprehensively reasoned.
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2022
Video versus direct laryngoscopy by specialist paramedics in New South Wales: Preliminary results from a new airway registry.
Video laryngoscopy (VL) is increasingly used as an alternative to direct laryngoscopy (DL) to improve airway visualisation and endotracheal intubation (ETI) success. Intensive Care Paramedics in New South Wales Ambulance, Australia started using VL in 2020, and recorded success in a new advanced airway registry. We used this registry to compare VL to DL. ⋯ This analysis of a new airway registry used by specialist paramedics in New South Wales shows a substantial increase in overall and first-pass intubation success with the use of VL when compared to DL.