Journal of accident & emergency medicine
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The Joint Committee for Higher Medical Training has issued a core curriculum for training in accident and emergency medicine. This article highlights some of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes one may usefully gain from a period of 6-12 months in general practice and how this can be integrated and adapted to a career in emergency medicine.
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To evaluate activities of a nurse led minor injuries unit based in a community hospital situated eight miles away from its sister district hospital in Crawley to demonstrate whether nurses can provide an alternative service. ⋯ With careful planning, adequate supervision, and support from multidisciplinary teams nurses can provide a worthwhile and effective service for a local community.
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(1) To establish the proportion of blood cultures that yield a positive microbiological culture. (2) To determine what proportion of blood cultures taken in the emergency department impact on patient management. (3) To develop guidelines for the appropriate ordering of blood cultures from patients in the emergency department (ED). ⋯ Blood cultures taken in the ED rarely yield positive cultures. Only 1.6% of blood cultures taken in the ED impact on management of patients. Simple strategies could reduce the number of blood cultures ordered with little prospect of patient compromise.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Oral midazolam for conscious sedation of children during minor procedures.
To compare the safety and efficacy of two doses of oral midazolam, and to assess the drug induced amnesia obtained, when used for conscious sedation of children undergoing minor procedures in the accident and emergency (A&E) setting. ⋯ At 0.5 mg/kg oral midazolam appears safe and is effective in sedating most children for minor procedures. Its use should be considered by all A&E departments dealing with children.
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To benchmark current practice in the management of adult patients presenting with seizures to the accident and emergency (A&E) departments by performing a comparative interdepartmental audit. To assess the quality and degree of completeness of documentation in A&E records and to develop a proforma for the documentation of any case presenting with a seizure which would incorporate management guidelines for use by A&E doctors. ⋯ Wide interdepartmental variation exists in both the quality of information recorded in A&E records and in the management of patients. Deficiencies could be minimised and potential improvements in the quality of documentation might be achieved by the introduction of a structured proforma incorporating pre-defined management guidelines.