Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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Social media (SoMe) are gaining increasing acceptance among, and use by, healthcare service deliverers and workers. UK Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) use SoMe to deliver service information and to fundraise, among other purposes. This article examines UK HEMS use of SoMe between January and February 2014 to determine the extent of adoption and to highlight trends in use. ⋯ The SoMe adopted, while varied, allowed for increased, and different forms of, information delivery by HEMS to the public, often in real time. Such use, though, risks breaching patient confidentiality and data protection requirements, especially when information is viewed cumulatively across platforms. There is an urgent need for the continued development of guidance in this unique setting to protect patients while UK HEMS promote and fundraise for their charitable activities.
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To synthesise the existing literature on the roles that emergency medical services (EMS) play in unplanned, urgent and emergency care for older people with dementia (OPWD), to define these roles, understand the strength of current research and to identify where the focus of future research should lie. ⋯ The use of EMS by OPWD is not well understood, although the literature reviewed demonstrated a concern for this group and awareness that services are not optimum. Research in dementia care should consider the role that EMS plays, particularly if considering crises, urgent care responses and transitions between care settings. EMS research into new ways of working, training or extended paramedical roles should consider specific needs and challenges of responding to people with dementia.
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Multicenter Study
Diagnostic performance of S100B protein serum measurement in detecting intracranial injury in children with mild head trauma.
To assess the accuracy of S100B serum level to detect intracranial injury in children with mild traumatic brain injury. ⋯ S100B has an excellent sensitivity but poor specificity. It is therefore an accurate tool to help rule out an intracranial injury but cannot be used as the sole marker owing to its specificity. Used with clinical decision rules, S100B may help to reduce the number of unnecessary CT scans.
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We sought to evaluate the ability of the Identification of Seniors At Risk (ISAR) tool to differentiate between older adult patients having a poor outcome within 30 days of emergency department (ED) care and those who do not. We compare prognostic accuracy of subjective versus objective risk factors. ⋯ The self-reported ISAR tool did not discriminate well between older adults with or without 30-day hospital revisit or death. An optimum score of ≥2 would identify many older adults at no apparent increased risk of poor outcomes at 30 days. Using objective ISAR-related risk factors did not improve overall discrimination.