Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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Multicenter Study
The relationship between body temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate in children.
To describe and quantify the effect that increasing body temperature has on heart rate and respiratory rate in children attending a paediatric emergency department (ED). ⋯ Body temperature is an independent determinant of heart rate, causing an increase of approximately 10 beats per minute per degree centigrade. Body temperature is also an independent determinant of respiratory rate. This quantification may help in the assessment of the hot and unwell child, to determine whether any tachycardia or tachypnoea is caused solely by fever, or whether there may be an element of concurrent shock.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Comparison between exclusively school teacher-based and mixed school teacher and healthcare provider-based programme on basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation for secondary schools.
To compare two teaching methodologies for PROCES (a basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (b-CPR) programme for secondary school students): one exclusively performed by school teachers (study group) and another by a mixed team of school teachers and healthcare providers (control group). ⋯ Secondary school teachers, previously trained in b-CPR, can teach these skills effectively to 14-16-year-old students using PROCES. The retention of b-CPR skills is greater with this methodology compared with a more standardised programme.
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Multicenter Study
A national survey of clinical practice for the management of whiplash-associated disorders in UK emergency departments.
To undertake a national survey to determine current practice for the management of whiplash injuries in UK emergency departments (ED). ⋯ Verbal advice is the primary method for managing whiplash injuries in ED and is usually supplemented by written advice. Within individual hospitals there is a lack of consistency between verbal and written advice. The promotion of personal injury claims is a common feature of written advice. Research is required to develop effective and consistent models of advice.
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Enlargement of the optic nerve sheath has been described in patients with raised intracranial pressure (ICP), thereby serving as one of its indicators. Optic nerve sonography offers rapid bedside assessment of the optic nerve sheath diameter and has recently been introduced for the non-invasive detection of raised ICP, particularly in patients with severe brain injury. This review explains the pathophysiology of optic nerve sheath enlargement as a result of intracranial hypertension, describes the technique and clinical use of optic nerve sonography, and summarises the studies which have tested this modality in the non-invasive evaluation of ICP.
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To describe and assess outcomes of adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases occurring in the greater Johannesburg metropolitan area recorded over a 7-year period in a student paramedic clinical learning database. ⋯ The proportion of cardiac arrest patients resuscitated was small as was the proportion of patients found in shockable rhythms and those with ROSC. Long response times may explain these findings, but a larger, prospective study on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Johannesburg is needed to confirm this.