Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
-
Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2024
Developing a clamshell thoracotomy training model to support hybrid teaching in simulation-based education.
Thoracotomy is an acute, time-sensitive procedure. Simulation-based education provides a safe-learning platform to learn these techniques under close supervision. ⋯ We describe the creation of a thoracotomy simulation model that allows trainees to practice these techniques in a safe-learning environment.
-
Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2024
Naloxone use by Aotearoa New Zealand emergency medical services, 2017-2021.
Emergency medical services (EMS) use of naloxone in the prehospital setting is indicated in patients who have significantly impaired breathing or level of consciousness when opioid intoxication is suspected. The present study characterised naloxone use in a nationwide sample of Aotearoa New Zealand road EMS patients to establish a baseline for surveillance of any changes in the future. ⋯ A national rate of EMS naloxone patients was established; measured clinical effects of naloxone were modest, suggesting many patients had reasons other than opioid toxicity contributing to their symptoms. Naloxone administration rates provide indirect surveillance information about suspected harmful opioid exposures but need to be interpreted with care.