Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2010
Randomized Controlled TrialBlood withdrawn through a cannula valve connector does not result in clinically significant haemolysis.
To assess the impact of cannula valve connectors on haemolysis of blood samples drawn from newly inserted cannulae. ⋯ The attachment of a cannula connector valve to a peripheral cannula prior to blood sampling is not associated with an increase in the rate of haemolysis or hyperkalaemia.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2010
Emergency physician credentialing for resuscitative thoracotomy for trauma.
A low case incidence and variable skill level prompted the development of a credentialing programme and specific surgical training in resuscitative thoracotomy for emergency physicians at The Alfred, a Level 1 Adult Victorian Major Trauma Service. ⋯ Emergency physicians working in high-volume Trauma Centres are expected to diagnose cardiac tamponade and on occasion decompress the pericardium. Specific training in the procedure should be undertaken.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2010
Comparative StudyExHALED study: prevalence of smoking and harm levels in an emergency department cohort.
To determine the prevalence of smoking among ED patients compared with the general New Zealand (NZ) smoking prevalence. Secondary outcomes were to determine smokers' level of nicotine dependence, readiness to quit and engagement with primary health care. ⋯ The prevalence rates of smoking are higher among patients attending Wellington Hospital ED than the general NZ population and the majority would like to quit smoking. One in four ED smokers have a high FTND score and are considered nicotine-dependent. Many patients who were not registered with a general practitioner smoked, and the majority wanted to quit. Finally, there is significant interest from ED patients in receiving quit smoking packs from the ED.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2010
Obesity significantly increases the difficulty of patient management in the emergency department.
To determine which aspects of ED management are adversely affected by patient obesity, to determine the level of obesity above which management is made more difficult and to make recommendations on how these effects might be mitigated. ⋯ Patient obesity significantly increases the difficulty of ED patient management. Staff recommendations to mitigate these effects were few but may inform changes in ED practice.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2010
Case ReportsLumbosacral plexopathy due to a rupture of a common Iliac artery aneurysm.
We report a case of lumbosacral plexopathy caused by the rupture of a common iliac artery aneurysm. The patient presented with sciatic type symptoms of lower back pain radiating to his left leg with associated numbness and weakness in the L4-S1 distribution. ⋯ Sciatica is commonly due to a prolapsed intervertebral disc, although spinal canal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, piriformis syndrome and spinal tumours and other causes need to be considered. This case serves to increase the awareness of the possibility of another uncommon cause, especially when additional atypical neurological symptoms exist.