International emergency nursing
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Case Reports
Nurse specialist treatment of eye emergencies: five year follow up study of quality and effectiveness.
The role of specialist nurses in triage, diagnosis and management of emergency eye conditions is well established, and encouraging reports of the safety and effectiveness of such services have been published. Specialist nurses in an emergency eye clinic in the UK seeing >7000 patients per year had been found at initial evaluation to treat 22% of the 1976 patients seen over a three month period without referring on to an ophthalmologist. ⋯ By contrast, from the sample 5 years later, 3 patients were identified who returned to the department due to possible misdiagnosis or sub-optimal management. We suggest that provision must be made for continuing professional development of nurses in this type of extended role, and the commitment to ongoing education should be backed up by a system of monitoring and critical incident reporting to facilitate skill maintenance and the life long learning process for specialist nurses.
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This study investigates the interrater reliability and the accuracy of Manchester Triage (MTS) at emergency departments in Western Sweden. ⋯ Patients in need of urgent care were identified in more than nine out of 10 cases. The high level of over-triage and under-triage in the less urgent categories resulted in low agreement and accuracy. This may suggest that the resources of emergency departments can be overused for non-urgent patients.
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To compare outcomes regarding splinting versus casting of paediatric torus fractures in the ED with the aim of establishing the preferred treatment. ⋯ Torus splints in all the studies were consistently better than plaster immobilisation in terms of clinical outcome, patient preference and cost, with the exceptions of young children or children with special needs who can easily remove the device. Splinting torus fractures may reduce cost, time and resource management if used instead of casting in the ED.
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Emergency rapid sequence induction (RSI) anaesthesia is the cornerstone of emergency airway management performed on patients in the emergency department (ED). The Royal College of Anaesthetists has stated that anaesthesia should not proceed without a skilled, dedicated assistant. It is essential that ED nurses are educated, skilled and competent to assist with RSI in the ED.
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Review Case Reports
Severe toxic methemoglobinemia mimicking septic shock in an infant.