Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
-
Multicenter Study
Pain assessments at triage with the Manchester triage system: a prospective observational study.
Pain is one of the six general discriminators of the Manchester triage system (MTS). The frequency of pain assessments conducted at triage with the MTS, and patient, nurse and triage characteristics associated with pain assessments were studied. Also, nurses' reasons for not assessing pain at triage were studied. ⋯ Pain assessments at triage are conducted infrequently because of insufficient education, conducting activities at triage that are not necessary for estimating urgency and a lack of clarity in the MTS guidelines. Changes in these areas are necessary to improve the reliability and validity of pain assessments and the MTS.
-
Tag rugby is a non-contact, seven-a-side, team sport in which each player wears specially designed shorts with velcro 'tags' attached to them. While tag rugby is a relatively new sport it has grown rapidly in popularity. As a result of its increasing popularity an increased frequency of attendances at plastic surgery clinics was observed and it was decided a review of all hand injuries associated with this new sport was required. ⋯ All of the hand injuries were sustained while 'tackling' during regular play, the hand injuries sustained were all treated using well-described methods and all the patients are recovering well. While the risk of a severe, life-threatening injury is unlikely while playing tag rugby, there is a real risk of sustaining a potentially debilitating hand injury.
-
On 12 May 2008, the Wenchuan earthquake, registering 8 on the Richter scale, hit the Sichuan province, China. Management of the rescue efforts and characteristics of casualties were studied. ⋯ The Wenchuan medical rescue effort presented several problems. The experience is reflected in these points: (1) establish an effective command and communication centre to ensure that medical rescue resources are deployed in time; (2) treat the wounded within the first 7 days; (3) prepare healthcare resources for both surgical and general medicine services; (4) establish contingency rescue plans with a coordinated effort; (5) insist on the principles of triage and adopt flexible evacuation and transfer methods.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Early prehospital use of non-invasive ventilation improves acute respiratory failure in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
To evaluate the use of prehospital non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. ⋯ ISRCTN47620321.