Articles: emergency-department.
-
The continuing shortfall of organs for transplantation has led to interest in Maastricht Category II (uncontrolled) Donation after Circulatory Death (DCD) organ donation. As preparation for a proposed pilot, this study aimed to explore the potential of uncontrolled DCD organ donation from patients presenting in cardiac arrest to the emergency department (ED) who are unsuccessfully resuscitated. ⋯ Identifying potential organ donors in the ED who are unsuccessfully resuscitated from cardiac arrest may contribute to reducing the shortfall of organs for transplantation, although numbers are likely to be small. If such a programme was to be introduced during weekday working hours, there may be around four donors a year. However, even one additional donor per year from hospitals across the UK with an ED and a transplantation service would add considerably to the overall organ donation rate.
-
Australian dental journal · Sep 2014
Dental emergencies presenting to a general hospital emergency department in Hobart, Australia.
Dental problems presenting to general hospital emergency departments (GHEDs) may create difficulties as there may not be appropriate facilities or personnel to manage them. The incidence and demographics of dental presentations to GHEDs in Tasmania are currently unexamined. This knowledge may be relevant in shaping dental service delivery. ⋯ Dental infections contribute a significant burden of ED dental presentations. Encouraging and facilitating patients to seek timely and appropriate primary care from dentists may decrease the number of presentations to ED, and the drain on time and resources. Additionally, this may spare patients from the unpleasant experience of an acute dental infection episode.
-
Pediatric emergency care · Sep 2014
Case ReportsCentral cord syndrome in a 7-year-old boy secondary to standing high jump.
Acute traumatic central cord syndrome is commonly associated with major trauma such as falling and motor vehicle crash, but minor or nontraumatic causes are very rare in children. As a consequence, most physicians frequently overlook children presenting with complaints of arm weakness when history of any definite major trauma does not exist, especially in the emergency department. We present the case of a 7-year-old boy who was experiencing weakness in both arms after a standing high jump with tilting his head back in school. ⋯ Magnetic resonance imaging of the cervical spine revealed observable swelling with increased signal intensity at C1 to 4 levels. This case showed a spinal cord injury caused by standing high jump with neck extension alone. Therefore, the physicians have to consider the possibility of spinal cord injury even without any history of major trauma.
-
Internal medicine journal · Sep 2014
Rapid rule out of myocardial infarction with the use of copeptin as a biomarker for cardiac injury.
Copeptin is a non-specific marker of an endogenous stress response. A dual biomarker marker approach involving the simultaneous use of troponin and copeptin assays may assist early exclusion of acute coronary syndrome in Australian emergency departments. The utility and limitations of this approach are discussed.
-
Pediatric emergency care · Sep 2014
Risk Factors for Apnea in Children Presenting With Out-of-Hospital Seizure.
This study aimed to quantify risk factors for apnea in children 0 to 5 years of age with out-of-hospital seizure. ⋯ Field treatment with diazepam and seizing at the time of PED arrival are associated with the occurrence of apnea in children 0 to 5 years of age with out-of-hospital seizure. Larger studies are needed to determine what other factors may contribute to this risk.