Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2020
Observational StudyFactors associated with emergency medical service delays in suspected ST-elevation myocardial infarction in Victoria, Australia: A retrospective study.
To assess the effect of patient and system characteristics on emergency medical service (EMS) delays prior to arrival at hospital in suspected ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). ⋯ A range of patient and system factors may influence EMS delays in STEMI. However, optimising dispatch prioritisation and widespread availability of prehospital 12-lead ECG could lead to substantial reduction in time to treatment.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2020
ReviewEmergency Medicine's COVID Future: facing the triple challenge after flattening the curve.
After successfully avoiding the situations experienced by some countries, Australasian EDs now face a future in which the ongoing threat of COVID-19 is added to the traditional challenges in providing quality emergency care. The contribution of emergency medicine to the national containment strategy adds a new dimension to the demands placed on emergency medicine in Australia and similarly, to the elimination strategy employed in New Zealand. These demands will best be met by a considered, planned and resourced approach that will challenge traditional measures of 'ED efficiency'.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2020
Understanding parent-reported factors that influence children and young people's anxiety and depression presentations to emergency departments: A multi-site study.
Victorian ED data show increased presentations for anxiety and depression in children. We aimed to determine parent-reported factors contributing to these presentations. ⋯ Parents bring their children to the ED for many reasons. Policy makers, managers and clinicians should work with parents to develop alternative approaches that provide families with community-based support, particularly for younger children and after hours, in order to provide an appropriate source of care for children and young people with anxiety and depression.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2020
Emergency department care for low back pain: Should we adopt recommendations from primary care guidelines?
ED visits for low back pain are increasing, but the lack of specific guidance for emergency physicians impedes evidence-based care, and adopting primary care recommendations may not be appropriate. The ED sees a different spectrum of low back pain presentations, where physicians are likely to encounter a larger proportion of patients with an underlying serious pathology or non-spinal diseases than in primary care. Current low back pain guidelines do not adequately cover screening for these conditions, but making a differential diagnosis is crucial in emergency patients with low back pain. In this article, we also discuss the challenges in developing specific ED guidelines for low back pain, the limited evidence on the profile of these patients and the surprising dearth of randomised trials.