CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne
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Over 22 million visitors attended the 1986 world exposition in Vancouver, and this had a significant impact on the local pediatric facility. A total of 559 children visited the emergency department of British Columbia's Children's Hospital with injuries or illnesses resulting from the fair. Of these, 193 (34%) had come directly from the site. ⋯ The proportion of visits for trauma was 50%, compared with the yearly average of 25%. There was a 6% increase in the workload in the emergency department during the fair; the percentage was even higher during July and August, particularly after 1800 hours. Recommendations are made to aid with the planning of medical care for similar events.
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Between 1981 and 1985 we carried out a study in two medium-sized nonteaching community hospitals to determine the rate of deterioration of knowledge and skills in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) among physicians and nurses, the accuracy of their perceptions of their knowledge and skills, the effects of practice on retention and the effect of CPR training on mortality. The participants' knowledge and skills were measured before training and immediately after, 6 months after and 12 months after training. Information on all attempts at CPR involving hospital staff was collected from medical records and from interviews with the participants. ⋯ Experience with CPR did not contribute to post-training knowledge or skills in either group. There was no evidence that death rates were lower when basic life support (BLS) was begun by trained staff than when it was begun by untrained staff. The probability of survival was greater when BLS was begun within 4 minutes of arrest than when it was begun after 4 minutes, regardless of whether advanced cardiac life support was begun within 10 minutes.
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We describe the development and operation of an emergency support service team in the Emergency Department of the Kingston General Hospital, Kingston, Ont. The team, composed of professionals from other departments of the hospital, provides emotional and practical support to family members or survivors in medical emergencies. We discuss the roles of the team members and their procedures for dealing with distress and grief.