Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2023
Does wearing a surgical mask influence face touching by healthcare workers? A retrospective cohort study.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers (HCW) in our ED were advised against and actively discouraged from wearing masks when not seeing respiratory patients, as mask wearing was thought to increase the risk of droplet transmission by face touching. The primary objective of the present study was to determine whether HCW using face masks were more or less likely to touch their faces than those not wearing masks. ⋯ Mask wearing did not change face touching or the duration of face touches. However, significantly fewer mucosal touches were observed when wearing a mask, which may help to reduce nosocomial droplet transmission of viruses.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2023
Cervical spine immobilisation is only required in drowning patients at high risk of axial loading of the spine.
Wave forced impacts are known to result in cervical spine injuries (CSI) and approximately 20% of drownings in Australia occur at the beach. The most common mechanism of injury in studies examining the frequency of CSI in drowning patients is shallow water diving. The aim of the present study was to determine what proportion of CSIs occurring in bodies of water experienced a concomitant drowning injury in a location where wave forced impacts are likely to be an additional risk factor. ⋯ The combination of CSI and drowning is uncommon. Cervical spine precautions are only required in drowning patients with signs or a history, or at high risk of, axial loading of the spine. This paper supports the move away from routine cervical spine precautions even in a high-risk population.
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Aortic dissection (AD) is rare. Missed AD is a common reason for coronial investigations and civil claims for medical negligence. Recommendations include improved education, supervision and information transfer, reminders in chest pain pathways and higher rates of investigation for AD. ⋯ The appropriate diagnostic yield of investigation to balance risk and benefit has not been defined. The AD detection risk score pathway has been proposed as a useful diagnostic tool but concerns about its derivation, validation and utility remain. In this paper, we try to draw together published literature and local audit data to develop recommendations about what might be done to reduce the number of missed AD cases in EDs and what the impact of higher investigation rates might be.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2023
Injury patterns, management and outcomes of retroperitoneal haemorrhage caused by lower intercostal arterial bleeding at a level-1 trauma centre: A 10-year retrospective review.
Haemorrhagic shock is a life-threatening complication of trauma, but remains a preventable cause of death. Early recognition of retroperitoneal haemorrhage (RPH) is crucial in preventing deleterious outcomes including mortality. Injury to the 9-11th intercostal arteries (i.e. arteries of the lower thoracic region) are complicit in RPH. However, the associated injuries, implications and management of such bleeds remain poorly characterised. ⋯ The present study highlights the importance of injury patterns, particularly posterior lower rib fractures, as predictors for early recognition and management of RPH in the prevention of deleterious patient outcomes. RPH secondary to bleeding of the LIA may require early and aggressive management of haemorrhage through massive transfusion, and angioembolisation or surgical ligation when compared to RPH because of other causes.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2023
Bandaids are not the fix: Examining the patterns of injury-related emergency department presentations in Australian children.
To provide an epidemiological understanding of the types of injuries treated in ED in Australian children, describe the impact of these injuries in volume and severity, and assess the patterns by demographic and temporal factors. ⋯ This is the first large-scale quantification of paediatric injury-related ED presentation patterns in Australia since the conclusion of the National Injury Surveillance and Prevention Program about 30 years ago. It provides valuable information to inform paediatric ED resourcing decisions as well as important evidence for injury prevention practitioners.