Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2010
ReviewReview article: Safety profile of propofol for paediatric procedural sedation in the emergency department.
The use of propofol for paediatric procedural sedation (PPS) is increasing because of its favourable pharmacodynamic profile. Its paediatric use has been limited in some ED (emergency departments) because of the perceived high rate of serious adverse events in comparison with other sedation agents. A systematic literature review of propofol use for PPS outside the operating theatre environment from 1966 to 2008 was carried out to profile the adverse event rate in comparison with other procedural sedation agents. ⋯ The use of propofol for PPS is associated with a low rate of minor adverse events that are all reversible with minimal intervention and do not produce long-term sequelae and occur at similar rates to minor adverse events experienced with other sedation agents. Major adverse events with propofol sedation are extremely rare and appropriate patient and procedure selection would decrease these risks further. The increasing use of propofol for ED PPS is supported by the current evidence because of its comparable adverse event rate to other agents.
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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Randomized Controlled TrialBlood withdrawn through a cannula valve connector does not result in clinically significant haemolysis.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
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.