European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Comparative Study
How aware are Belgian permanent and resident emergency physicians of common medical costs and radiation doses?
To establish how aware Belgian emergency physicians are of common treatment costs and radiation doses. ⋯ Emergency doctors, whether permanent physicians or resident physicians, have a limited knowledge of both costs and radiation doses of investigations and treatments they prescribe every day.
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Participants in advanced resuscitation courses are often expected to learn to perform intraosseous access (IO). But how many learning modalities are needed to achieve procedural confidence in IO? We distributed an online questionnaire to members of emergency medicine, paediatric and anaesthesiology societies in Scandinavia. The responders without real-life experience with IO (n=322) were classified as 'not confident' or 'confident' in IO. ⋯ Confidence increased to 74.8% after one training modality, 87.9% after two modalities, 98.7% after three modalities and 100% after four modalities (P<0.0001). Of total responders 89.5% who had 'workshop or similar training with hands-on experience' as sole teaching method was confident. Confidence in IO increases with the number of learning modalities. 'Workshop or similar training with hands-on experience' as single training modality seemed as effective as the combination of two modalities.
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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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Fractured neck of femur (NOF) is a common injury in the elderly, which causes severe pain and distress. Fascia iliaca compartment block using the 'Two Pop Technique' is safe and relatively easy to perform. It has been traditionally performed by anaesthetists in a controlled environment for perioperative pain relief with very good results. The purpose of the study was to investigate its applicability and success rate in a busy emergency department (ED) with changing junior staff and time pressures. ⋯ The fascia iliaca compartment block offers a very good, efficient and safe alternative to conventional analgesia in the treatment of pain in patients with fractured NOF. It should be used more by EPs as it is easy to learn and it requires inexpensive equipment.