Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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A short cut review was carried out to see if 'finger' thoracostomy was a safe and effective procedure to use in the pre-hospital setting in patients with traumatic cardiac arrest. Three relevant papers were found describing the use of this technique in the pre-hospital setting. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results study weaknesses of these papers are tabulated. Finger thoracostomy appears to be an acceptable and effective technique for trained physicians in the pre-hospital setting.
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A short cut review was carried out to see if 'finger' thoracostomy is a safe and effective method of treating a tension pneumothorax in a pre-hospital setting. Five relevant papers were found looking at this technique in the pre-hospital setting. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results study weaknesses of these papers are tabulated. This technique appears to be safe and effective when performed by trained physicians in a pre-hospital setting.
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A short cut review was carried out to see if the presence of 'B lines' detected on lung ultrasound could be used to guide the volume of fluid replacement necessary in the resuscitation of the patient with sepsis. Four papers with some degree of relevance were found in the literature search. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results study weaknesses of these papers are tabulated. Although a promising concept, the remains a paucity of good quality evidence sufficient to recommend this approach.