Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2014
ReviewReview article: Components of a good quality discharge summary: A systematic review.
The present study aims to inform the use of discharge summaries as a marker of the quality of communication between ED and primary care; this systematic review aims to identify a consensus on the key components of a high-quality discharge summary. ⋯ The key components to include in a discharge summary are the discharge diagnosis, treatment received, results of investigations and the follow up required. The limited evidence pertaining to ED discharges was consistent with this. The adequacy of the components rather than just their presence or absence should also be considered when assessing the quality of discharge summaries.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2014
ReviewReview article: Maxillofacial emergencies: Dentoalveolar and temporomandibular joint trauma.
Dentoalveolar trauma and dislocations of the temporomandibular joint are common reasons for patients to present to EDs in Australia. The majority of medical practitioners receive very little formal training in the management of these injuries and might not have ready access to dental services out of hours for advice. This article focuses on the emergency assessment, triage and non-specialist management of dentoalveolar trauma and injuries to the temporomandibular joint.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2014
Comparative StudyComparison of intubation performance by emergency medicine residents using gum elastic bougie versus standard stylet in simulated easy and difficult intubation scenarios.
We sought to evaluate the success rate and time to endotracheal intubation by emergency medicine residents with stylet reinforced endotracheal tube (ETT-S) versus intubation with a gum elastic bougie (GEB) in simulated easy and difficult airways on a cadaveric model. ⋯ Time to intubation in a simulated grade 3 view was significantly longer in the GEB group versus the ETT-S group. Although the differences in success rates were not statistically significant, there was a trend toward more successful intubations with the GEB in the simulated grade 3 view.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2014
Emergency weight estimation in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the Northern Territory: Are the current methods accurate?
During a paediatric emergency, it is often impractical to weigh a child. Many resuscitative measures require a child's weight; therefore, estimation is often used. Different methods are available to do this, usually based on a child's age or length. The accuracy of these methods has not been validated in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from remote communities. The objective of this study was to determine how well these paediatric emergency weight estimation methods predict weight for this group of children. ⋯ Our data support the use of the Broselow® Tape as the recommended method when estimating weight in an emergency for remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the NT for the 0-5 year age group.