Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2005
Comparative StudyImpact on patients triage distribution utilizing the Australasian Triage Scale compared with its predecessor the National Triage Scale.
To assess the impact of the change from the National Triage Scale (NTS) to the Australasian Triage Scale (ATS) within a hospital ED. ⋯ The revision of the ATS has had a significant impact on the triage distribution of patients who present to ED. The change of distribution might have implications for meeting performance criteria and assessing casemix.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2005
ReviewPrimary care patients in the emergency department: who are they? A review of the definition of the 'primary care patient' in the emergency department.
To review the definition of 'primary care' and 'inappropriate' patients in ED and develop a generally acceptable working definition of a 'primary care' presentation in ED. ⋯ This definition can be applied either prospectively or retrospectively, depending on the purpose. Appropriateness must be considered in light of a legitimate role for ED in primary care and the balance of resources between primary care and emergency medicine in local settings.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2005
Occult pneumothorax in trauma patients: should this be sought in the focused assessment with sonography for trauma examination?
At present, CT scan is the gold standard for detecting occult traumatic pneumothorax not apparent on supine chest X-ray radiograph. Recently there were suggestions to expand focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST) to include thoracic ultrasound for detecting pneumothorax. The aim of the present study is to determine the incidence of occult pneumothorax (as shown by CT) in the subgroup of trauma patients undergoing FAST. ⋯ The incidence of occult pneumothorax in the subgroup of trauma patients undergoing FAST is low. It implies that routine screening for its presence by adding thoracic ultrasound to FAST is unnecessary. Identifying those at risk of occult pneumothorax for further investigation appeared feasible.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2005
Case ReportsUnusual cause of sudden onset headache: spontaneous intracranial hypotension.
Spontaneous intracranial hypotension is a very distinctive but unusual cause of acute headache. The postural nature of the headache can be easily overlooked in the celerity to exclude subarachnoid haemorrhage. We describe the clinical and radiological features of a case that emphasizes some of the diagnostic difficulties. An approach to management and treatment for this condition is outlined.