Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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Multicenter Study
The accuracy of existing prehospital triage tools for injured children in England--an analysis using trauma registry data.
To investigate the performance characteristics of prehospital paediatric triage tools for identifying seriously injured children in England. ⋯ None of the prehospital triage tools currently used or being developed in England meet recommended criteria for over- and under-triage rates. There is an urgent need for the development of triage tools to accurately risk-stratify injured children in the prehospital setting.
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Transvaginal ultrasound probe contamination by the human papillomavirus in the emergency department.
To determine if human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA can be detected on the transvaginal sonography (TVS) probe in the emergency department (ED) and whether the current barrier method plus disinfection can prevent HPV contamination of the TVS probe. ⋯ HPV is commonly encountered in the ED and contamination of the TVS probe with HPV is possible. Although it is difficult to prove the viability and infectivity of the virus, vigilant infection control measures should be maintained.
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An ideal triage system used in the emergency department (ED) should identify patients who need urgent medical care. The purpose of this study was to validate the Taiwan Triage and Acuity Scale (TTAS) for stratifying patients according to their severity, need for thrombolysis, resource utilisation, and outcome. ⋯ Acuity measured by the computerised TTAS demonstrated good validity in facilitating acute care of stroke patients with special regard to thrombolytic therapy.
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Responding to incidents where access by conventional land-based ambulance assets is limited is an important facet of helicopter emergency medical services operations in rural areas. Often in such cases extra resources must be utilised to enable access to patients and facilitate egress to transport platforms. This case illustrates the importance of coordination and integration with additional resources that can be utilised in remote rural locations.
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Review Case Reports
Towards evidence-based emergency medicine: best BETs from the Manchester Royal Infirmary. BET 2: Immobilisation of stable ankle fractures: plaster cast or functional brace?
A short-cut review of the literature was carried out to establish whether a functional brace was as good as a traditional plaster of Paris to immobilise a stable ankle fracture in terms of functionality and recovery speed. A total of 260 papers was found using the below outlined search method, of which five were thought to represent the best evidence to answer the specific clinical question. ⋯ The clinical bottom line is that the limited evidence seems to suggest that a functional brace appears to give more favourable outcomes. Good quality studies involving large populations are, however, needed to delineate a clear answer to this specific question.