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Emergency Medicine
Treatment innovations save lives in traumatic injuries with severe bleeding
UK deaths from severe bleeding after major trauma have been reduced by 40% over the past decade through a programme of research and innovation...
CRASH-3: a win for patients with traumatic brain injury
The CRASH-3 trial found a significant reduction in risk of head injury-related mortality when tranexamic acid was administered within 3 hours of injury to...
Optimal CPR compression rate and depth for neurologically intact survival — NIH study
A study of more than 3,600 patients who experienced cardiac arrest outside the hospital., where compression rate and depth were being recorded as part...
Study may change guidelines in sepsis management
Among patients with severe manifestations of sepsis, initiation of empirical antimicrobial therapy significantly reduces the sensitivity of blood cultures drawn shortly after treatment initiation.
The...
Blood pressure stabilising hormone cuts transfusion volumes by half
Giving trauma patients with severe blood loss the hormone arginine vasopressin (AVP) cut the volume of blood products required to stabilise them by half,...
Triage monitor to determine CO poisoning cleared by FDA
The ToxCO, an instant, non-invasive breath analysis monitor that measures exhaled carbon monoxide (C0) to give an idea of CO levels in the blood,...
A better way to treat prolonged epileptic seizures in children
A New Zealand-Australian study has delivered "robust" evidence for emergency medicine doctors to manage children with prolonged seizures without reverting to intubation and intensive...
Women call ambulances for heart attack husbands but not themselves
Women call an ambulance for husbands, fathers and brothers with heart attack symptoms but not for themselves. Women are also more likely to have...
Experts recommend haemorrhage control kits for public venues
As mass-casualty events and violent attacks in the US continue to increase, military and emergency medicine experts are recommending that public venues install bleeding-control...
Facing an overdose epidemic, some ERs offer addiction treatment
For Zachary Dezman, an emergency physician in heroin-plagued Baltimore, there is no question that offering addiction medicine to emergency room patients is the right...
Simple laboratory score – a safer, faster way to diagnose heart attacks
An international team of researchers has developed a simple laboratory score that is safer and faster at diagnosing patients who visit the emergency department...
Australian paramedic study on midazolam vs droperidol
The first comparison of the standard sedative, midazolam, with droperidol in an Australian pre-hospital setting found droperidol sedated patients nearly 70% quicker, was three...
Significantly higher death rates in blood type O severe trauma patients
Blood type O was significantly associated with high mortality in severe trauma patients and might have a great impact on outcomes., according to a...
Emergency HIV testing effective in identifying patients currently missed
A non-targeted testing approached by the emergency department in a South African hospital revealed a high HIV prevalence with a significant burden of undiagnosed...
Heat stroke victims should first be cooled on site
Athletes who suffer life-threatening heat stroke should be cooled on site before they are taken to the hospital, according to an expert panel's report....
Bystander use of AEDs doubles cardiac arrest survival rates
Survival from cardiac arrest doubled when a bystander stepped in to apply an automated external defibrillator (AED) before emergency responders arrived, according to research....
Life-saving ischaemic stroke treatment rarely used
Only 10% of ischaemic stroke patients receive intravenous (IV) alteplase, a clot-dissolving medication. After one year, the patients who did not receive IV alteplase...
AEDs saves lives at sports and fitness centres
Automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) save lives in amateur sports and fitness centres, according to research presented at ESC Congress. The 18-year study found that...
Reversal of brain volume loss in a toddler after drowning
US specialists report the case of the reversal of brain volume loss in a two-year-old drowning victim unresponsive to all stimuli treated with normo-baric...
Heart failure risk scale validated for clinical practice
A study has found the Ottawa Heart Failure Risk Scale (OHFRS) tool to be highly sensitive for serious adverse event in acute heart failure...
Using Ottawa Rule would free up emergency room beds
A large study validated the Ottawa Chest Pain Cardiac Monitoring Rule that could safely take a third of chest pain patients in the emergency...
Delay in calling for help increases survival risk
Half of heart attack patients fail to immediately call an ambulance for help, delaying diagnosis and potentially worsening their survival odds. Women were less likely to call an ambulance than men.
Transfusion study 'a milestone in trauma care'
A 'milestone' multi-site US study compared two blood transfusion techniques and found that one approach gave patients a significantly better chance of survival within the first 24 hours.
Aspirin lifesaver neglected by ambulance crews
People who might be having heart attack should get aspirin on the way to the hospital, but about half of patients in don't get this potentially life-saving treatment, according to a US review.
Quick test gives proof of heart attack
A quick new blood test that rules out heart attacks in patients could reduce hospital emergency admissions by as much as 40% for patients with chest pain, according to Bournemouth University research.
CPR guidelines mistaken on depth of compressions
Contrary to popular belief and American Heart Association guidelines, chest compressions deeper than 55mm result in decreased survival, possibly because of collateral damage to other internal organs, according to a review of research by University of Texas emergency medicine physicians. About half of responders were also giving compressions faster than the 100 to 120 per minute that are optimal for survival, the findings, from two independent studies, showed.
Eye tracker improves concussion detection
A New York University proof of concept study utilised a novel eye-tracking device to effectively measure the severity of concussion or brain injury in patients presenting to emergency departments following head trauma.
Device could save trauma lives
A fingertip device used monitor a patient’s haemoglobin count in physicians' offices may also save valuable minutes with critically injured trauma patients.