Archives of emergency medicine
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A tape measure, based on 50th centile weight for height and designed to permit easy drug dosage calculation, endotracheal tube size and DC cardioversion current dosages in childrens' emergencies, was tested for reliability by medical and nursing staff with varying paediatric experience. We found that the tape measure gave a reproducible estimate of weight and suggest that its use would facilitate decision making by inexperienced medical and nursing staff in paediatric resuscitation when there is no time to weigh the child.
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The Flying Squad of the Accident and Emergency Department, of the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, was established in 1955 by Collins. The initial function was to provide emergency care to victims of industrial accidents. ⋯ The outcome in medical emergencies is reported as dismal (Robertson & Steedman, 1985; Rowley & Collins, 1979) yet the number of calls for the flying squad to attend medical emergencies are many. Previous reports have recorded 20-30% of Squad calls responding to medical emergencies (Gorman & Coals, 1983; Rowley & Collins, 1979; Steedman & Robertson, 1986; Harrop & Bodiwala, 1983).
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A short questionnaire on the subject of the management of epistaxis was sent to forty accident & emergency departments in two NHS regions. Thirty replies were received (response of 75%). It was found that all departments were involved in the initial management of epistaxis, but the extent of that involvement varied considerably. ⋯ Twenty-seven departments used various forms of nasal packing but, of these, two-thirds did not use any form of local anaesthesia. Twenty-three departments allowed patients to go home with a nasal pack in situ. The results of this survey are discussed and a guideline to the management of epistaxis in an accident & emergency setting is suggested.