Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2013
Exploration of the perceptions of emergency physicians and interns regarding the medical documentation practices of interns.
The primary objective of the present study was to learn the factors that influence the documentation practices of ED interns. A second objective was to identify the expectations of emergency physicians (EPs) towards the medical record documentation of ED interns. ⋯ The lack of formal training is an impediment to the production of useful medical records by ED interns. One solution proposed by both interns and senior personnel was the introduction of the subject into intern education programmes.
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Although the role of the ED in the management of patients needing palliative care is recognised internationally, there are little Australasian data on this issue. This study aimed to determine the current knowledge and attitude to the provision of palliative care in Australasian EDs. ⋯ Although limited by the low response rate, this survey indicates that there is a need and a desire for greater integration of the values and standards of high-quality palliative care in Australasian EDs.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2013
'To teach or not to teach?' Factors that motivate and constrain Australian emergency medicine physicians to teach medical students.
Clinical teaching in the ED is crucial to the education of medical students. We attempted to identify and describe Australian emergency physicians who are currently clinical teachers and to elicit the factors that motivate and constrain them to teach. ⋯ Although most emergency physicians are willing to teach, systemic and university factors associated with teaching medical students acted against success of this outcome.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2013
Tick bite anaphylaxis: incidence and management in an Australian emergency department.
Ticks are endemic to the eastern coastline of Australia. The aim of the present study is to describe the incidence of tick bites in such an area, the seasonal and geographical distribution, the incidence of anaphylaxis due to tick bite and its management. ⋯ We report 34 cases of tick bite anaphylaxis over a 2 year period at a single hospital in a tick endemic area. The variation in the presenting symptoms and signs, as well as in management highlights the need for increased awareness for tick bite management in tick endemic areas.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2013
Case ReportsExtreme sports: extreme physiology. Exercise-induced pulmonary oedema.
We report five patients who presented to an on-site medical team with concurrent haemoptysis and shortness of breath at a recent triathlon event. After initial management in the field, three of the five patients were transported to hospital via ambulance for further management, resulting in patients with haemoptysis and dyspnoea being 17 times more likely to require hospital transport. It is important to consider the differential diagnoses for this presentation, particularly exercise-induced pulmonary oedema.