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Emergency Medicine Guidelines (emergency + medicine_guideline)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	100%

Selected Abstracts

Optimizing triage consistency in Australian emergency departments: The Emergency Triage Education Kit

EMERGENCY MEDICINE AUSTRALASIA, Issue 3 2008
Marie Frances Gerdtz
Abstract Objective: The Emergency Triage Education Kit was designed to optimize consistency of triage using the Australasian Triage Scale. The present study was conducted to determine the interrater reliability of a set of scenarios for inclusion in the programme. Methods: A postal survey of 237 paper-based triage scenarios was utilized. A quota sample of triage nurses (n = 42) rated each scenario using the Australasian Triage Scale. The scenarios were analysed for concordance and agreement. The criterion for inclusion of the scenarios in the programme was , , 0.6. Results: Data were collected during 2 April to 14 May 2007. Agreement for the set was , = 0.412 (95% CI 0.410,0.415). Of the initial set: 92/237 (38.8%, 95% CI 32.6,45.3) showed concordance ,70% to the modal triage category (, = 0.632, 95% CI 0.629,0.636) and 155/237 (65.4%, 95% CI 59.3,71.5) showed concordance ,60% to the modal triage category (, = 0.507, 95% CI 0.504,0.510). Scenarios involving mental health and pregnancy presentations showed lower levels of agreement (, = 0.243, 95% CI 0.237,0.249; , = 0.319, 95% CI 0.310,0.328). Conclusion: All scenarios that showed good levels of agreement have been included in the Emergency Triage Education Kit and are recommended for testing purposes; those that showed moderate agreement have been incorporated for teaching purposes. Both scenario sets are accompanied by explanatory notes that link the decision outcome to the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine Guidelines on the Implementation of the Australasian Triage Scale. Future analysis of the scenarios is required to identify how task-related factors influence consistency of triage. [source]

Ultrasound Training for Emergency Physicians, A Prospective Study

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 9 2000
Diku P. Mandavia MD
Abstract. Objectives: Bedside ultrasound examination by emergency physicians (EPs) is being integrated into clinical emergency practice, yet minimum training requirements have not been well defined or evaluated. This study evaluated the accuracy of EP ultrasonography following a 16-hour introductory ultrasound course. Methods: In phase I of the study, a condensed 16-hour emergency ultrasound curriculum based on Society for Academic Emergency Medicine guidelines was administered to emergency medicine houseofficers, attending staff, medical students, and physician assistants over two days. Lectures with syllabus material were used to cover the following ultrasound topics in eight hours: basic physics, pelvis, right upper quadrant, renal, aorta, trauma, and echo-cardiography. In addition, each student received eight hours of hands-on ultrasound instruction over the two-day period. All participants in this curriculum received a standardized pretest and posttest that included 24 emergency ultrasound images for interpretation. These images included positive, negative, and nondiagnostic scans in each of the above clinical categories. In phase II of the study, ultrasound examinations performed by postgraduate-year-2 (PGY2) houseofficers over a ten-month period were examined and the standardized test was readministered. Results: In phase I, a total of 80 health professionals underwent standardized training and testing. The mean ± SD pretest score was 15.6 ± 4.2, 95% CI = 14.7 to 16.5 (65% of a maximum score of 24), and the mean ± SD posttest score was 20.2 ± 1.6, 95% CI = 19.8 to 20.6 (84%) (p < 0.05). In phase II, a total of 1,138 examinations were performed by 18 PGY2 houseofficers. Sensitivity was 92.4% (95% CI = 89% to 95%), specificity was 96.1% (95% CI = 94% to 98%), and overall accuracy was 94.6% (95% CI = 93% to 96%). The follow-up ultrasound written test showed continued good performance (20.7 ± 1.2, 95% CI = 20.0 to 21.4). Conclusions: Emergency physicians can be taught focused ultrasonography with a high degree of accuracy, and a 16-hour course serves as a good introductory foundation. [source]

Recent advances in the neurophysiology of chronic pain

EMERGENCY MEDICINE AUSTRALASIA, Issue 1 2005
Kylie Baker
Abstract The chronic pain syndrome patient has become the ,leper' of emergency medicine. There are no emergency medicine guidelines and minimal research into managing this challenging group of patients. Objective:, To summarize the recent advances in laboratory research into the development of chronic pain that have relevance to emergency management. When the level of supporting evidence is low, it is imperative that emergency physicians understand the physiology that underpins those expert opinions upon which they base their treatment strategies. Methods:, Literature was searched via Medline, Cochrane, Cinahl, and PsycINFO from 1996 to 2004, under ,chronic pain and emergency management'. Medline from 1996 was searched for ,chronic pain and prevention', ,chronic pain and emergency' and ,chronic pain'. Bibliographies were manually searched for older keynote articles. Results:, Advances in understanding the biochemical changes of chronic pain are paralleled by lesser known advances in delineation of the corticol processing. Conclusions:, Drug manipulation causes complex action and reaction in chronic pain. Emergency physicians must also optimize cognitive and behavioural aspects of treatment to successfully manage this systemic disease. [source]

Improving Rural Access to Emergency Physicians

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 6 2007
Daniel A. Handel MD
The recent Institute of Medicine report entitled The Future of Emergency Care in the United States Health System acknowledges workforce issues in rural America but does not adequately address the current shortage of emergency medicine residency,trained and board-certified emergency physicians in rural America. Areas worthy of further attention to ameliorate this threat include 1) government and hospital support of emergency medicine resident educational debt load, 2) modification of residency review committee for emergency medicine guidelines to permit modified training programs that are rural focused, and 3) support of pilot projects designed to modify the delivery of rural emergency care under remote supervision by academic medical center,based practitioners. The authors discuss these potential solutions to help guide policy makers seeking to enhance rural emergency care delivery through a stronger emergency medicine workforce. [source]