European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Comparative Study
Comparison of the SALT and Smart triage systems using a virtual reality simulator with paramedic students.
Virtual reality systems may allow for organized study of mass casualty triage systems by allowing investigators to replicate the same mass casualty incident, with the same victims, for a large number of rescuers. The study objectives were to develop such a virtual reality system, and use it to assess the ability of trained paramedic students to triage simulated victims using two triage systems. ⋯ The virtual reality platform seems to be a viable research tool for examining mass casualty triage. A small sample of trained paramedic students using the virtual reality system was able to triage simulated patients faster and with greater accuracy with 'Smart' triage than with 'SALT' triage.
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The Licensing Act (2003) was implemented in England and Wales at midnight on 23 November 2005. Two studies have tried to assess the impact of the new legislation on emergency department attendances in London and South Yorkshire. Both studies reported a small increase in alcohol-related attendances to the emergency department after the new legislation. This study aimed to assess whether the Licensing Act (2003) has had a significant impact on the number and demography of assaults presenting to a Cambridgeshire emergency department. ⋯ The Licensing Act (2003) has been associated with minor changes in the epidemiology of assaults presenting to our emergency department. The magnitude of these changes is small, implying that they are practically unimportant. The Licensing Act has failed to reduce the burden of alcohol-related assaults presenting to our emergency department.