Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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This article provides background information about the emerging field of international emergency medicine (IEM) and how emergency physicians in Australasia can participate in its practice and development. It reviews the seven key areas of knowledge and skills involved in the practice of IEM as put forward by US fellowship programmes: (i) Emergency Medicine Systems Development; (ii) Humanitarian Relief; (iii) Disaster Management; (iv) Public Health; (v) Travel and Field Medicine; (vi) Programme Administration; and (vii) Academic Skills. ⋯ Means by which individuals can fund and engage in IEM activities are proposed. This article provides a reference of domestic and international IEM training resources that can be obtained by Australasian emergency physicians and trainees today.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2012
National Coroners Information System: a valuable source of lessons for emergency medicine.
To interrogate the National Coroners Information System (NCIS) to determine the recurrent themes among coroners' recommendations that aimed to increase the safety of ED care. ⋯ The NCIS data theme analysis identifies important high-risk patients and presenting complaints. These should be incorporated into emergency physician training. EDs should review the coronial recommendations to ensure that, where possible, they have been adopted.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2012
Use of step stool during resuscitation improved the quality of chest compression in simulated resuscitation.
Resuscitation on a medical bed is difficult because of the need to match the height of the bed to the height of the rescuer, which is impossible on a fixed-height medical bed. This study investigated the effect of using a step stool on chest compressions performed on a manikin in a fixed-height medical bed. ⋯ In-hospital resuscitation was conducted on a fixed-height medical bed by rescuers of different heights. The use of a step stool may improve the quality and effectiveness of chest compressions, particularly for short rescuers.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2012
Prospective comparison of point-of-care international normalised ratio measurement versus plasma international normalised ratio for acute traumatic coagulopathy.
Early detection of acute traumatic coagulopathy (ATC) might be useful to guide trauma resuscitation. This study aimed to compare results from a point-of-care (POC) international normalised ratio (INR) measuring device with plasma INR in acute trauma patients. ⋯ POC INR measurements using this method during the trauma reception and resuscitative phases cannot be used to identify or exclude patients with ATC. Further studies are required to determine if there is any role for POC INR measures during trauma resuscitation.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2012
Simple external rotation of the leg increases the size and accessibility of the femoral vein.
To determine if external rotation of the leg increases the size and accessibility of the femoral vein compared with a neutral position. ⋯ The total and accessible femoral vein diameter is increased and the surface depth of the vein is decreased by placing the leg in external rotation compared with the neutral position.