Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
-
A short cut review was carried out to establish whether capnography should be routinely used during procedural sedation in Emergency Departments. 206 papers were found using the reported searches, of which nine presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these best papers are tabulated. It is that capnography may provide early warning of ventilatory changes that could result in hypoxia.
-
In recent years there has been a commendable focus on patient-centred medicine, with increasing attention being paid to the timely assessment and management of acute pain. 78% of patients who attend the emergency department report pain, the severity of which is often used to determine clinical priority at triage. Clinical guidelines are increasingly including the timely provision of appropriate analgesia as a clinical standard. Pain scoring has been widely adopted, causing pain to be considered as the 'fifth vital sign' by some. ⋯ It is demonstrated that the current naturalistic approach risks neglecting many 'non-nociceptive' sources of suffering, including physical (eg, nausea, vertigo, dyspnoea, pruritus) and mental (anxiety, depression, fear, anger) symptoms. In the humane quest to relieve suffering, there is a clear need to examine current practice. Indeed, the philosophical enquiry presented even questions whether our culture risks overemphasising the importance of pharmacological analgesia and calls for emergency physicians to take a more holistic approach to meeting patient needs.
-
A short cut review was carried out to establish whether pregabalin can reduce acute herpetic pain and reduce post herpetic neuralgia. 48 papers were found using the reported searches, of which one presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of this best paper are tabulated. ⋯ Moreover, it does not decrease the incidence of post herpetic neuralgia. More research is needed on this topic to clarify this issue [corrected].
-
A short cut review was carried out to establish whether the seat belt sign was a significant predictor of intra-abdominal injury in children involved in motor vehicle collisions. 51 papers were found using the reported searches, of which three presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these best papers are tabulated. It is concluded that seatbelt sign appears to be associated with an increased risk of intra-abdominal injuries, especially gastrointestinal and pancreatic injuries.
-
This paper investigates the literature regarding the impact of shift work on prehospital emergency providers. While the issue of shift work has been thoroughly investigated in other health disciplines, this is not the case for the paramedic discipline, particularly in the Australian context. ⋯ Shift work can affect health and well-being on a variety of levels, both physiologically and psychologically, affecting aspects of work and personal life. Further research is warranted to prevent the issues of patient safety, work-related fatigue and the cumulative effects of shift work.