BACKGROUND: Family physicians provide care in emergency departments, especially in rural areas; however, no published data describe how they perceive their preparation for emergency practice. We surveyed graduates of Colorado family practice residencies concerning their emergency medicine practice, their comfort working in emergency departments, and their perceived preparation for practicing ...

Ultrasound is widely used in the US and continental Europe in the immediate assessment of patients after blunt abdominal trauma. There are also now other recognised "primary" indications for ultrasound in emergency medicine. In this paper current evidence supporting the implementation and use of emergency ultrasound in these primary conditions ...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate Emergency Medicine resident physicians' compliance with our institution's rapid sequence intubation (RSI) protocol by the use of videotape analysis. We conducted a prospective, observational study of Emergency Medicine resident physicians (EM 1,2,3) as they were videotaped performing RSI on medical and trauma ...

This article provides guidance on how to manage the unavoidable challenge of aggression in psychiatric relationships. Accordingly, this article addresses issues of personal safety and how to manage potentially violent patients, defuse situations that threaten imminent violence, and manage emergent violence. In addition, a useful chart is highlighted that differentiates ...

The American Board of Emergency Medicine gathers extensive background information on emergency medicine residents and the programs in which they train. We present the third annual report on the status of US emergency medicine residency programs. [American Board of Emergency Medicine. Report of the Task Force on Residency Training Information ...

This article discusses different techniques that can be used in the diagnosis and treatment of obstetrical emergencies. Female reproductive emergencies commonly encountered by small animal practitioners include pyometra, dystocia, cesarean section, mastitis, eclampsia, uterine torsion, and uterine prolapse. A thorough knowledge of normal and abnormal reproductive behavior will aid the ...

This study evaluated the impact of certain Emergency Physician (EP) conditions on hiring decisions by fellow EPs. An anonymous survey asked 255 Pennsylvania EPs to rate the likelihood of their voting to offer a position in each of six scenarios. Three scenarios consisted of EPs unable to work regular shifts ...

The growing problem of the uninsured population may be the next major issue the American College for Emergency Physicians (ACEP) will focus on in 2000, after prudent layperson legislation is passed and enforced in all states. Prudent layperson definition standards have been adopted in 28 states, but ACEP is now ...

We sought to measure the prevalence of practicing procedures on the recently dead in emergency departments. Surveys were mailed to all medical students, interns, residents in Emergency Medicine, emergency physicians, and trauma team leaders working in the teaching hospitals of a city with a population of 600,000. Of 447 distributed ...

There has been a general trend in medicine towards greater sophistication in research design. In order to assess this trend in emergency medicine we compared the characteristics of abstracts presented at the 1974, 1983, 1989, and 1997 annual scientific meetings of academic emergency medicine. All 870 abstracts were reviewed by ...

The management of injuries from toxic release (HAZMAT) incidents is unfamiliar to many emergency medical responders owing to the relative rarity of such incidents. However, the risks from toxic release in both industrial and other metropolitan areas are increasing and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel should be trained to be ...

None of these models will automatically come to pass but all are possible today. Radiologists have to realize that the teleimaging era for emergency patients is here to stay. Successful utilization for good and gain may no longer be accomplished by a reliance on old or outmoded practice assumptions. The ...

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to describe the current level of implementation of quality management (QM) structures and practices with Australian emergency departments. The secondary objective was to describe the level of association between the presence of QM structures and processes and the achievement of associated improvements. DESIGN: Data were ...

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To compare the performance of an evidence-based medicine (EBM) approach and a traditional approach to teaching critical appraisal skills to emergency medicine residents. METHODS: This was a prospective, case-controlled trial of 32 emergency medicine residents (16 control and 16 intervention). Intervention residents were exposed to a monthly, 1-hour ...

STUDY OBJECTIVE: As part of an ongoing project to identify all the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in the emergency medicine literature, in association with the Cochrane Collaboration, 2 discrete studies were undertaken; the first, to compare motives for active participation in hand searching of the literature by emergency medicine professionals, ...

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and oxygen therapy are often necessary procedures done in veterinary practice. There are variations in CPR technique, especially in cardiac life support. Oxygen therapy can be an important adjunctive therapy in emergency and critical care medicine. The techniques used for oxygen administration differ depending on the medical problem ...

The purpose of this study is to determine the frequency and variety of strategies being used in the Emergency Department (ED) management of sickle cell pain crisis (SCPC). One thousand randomly selected academic emergency physicians received a multiple-choice survey; 549 (55%) completed the survey. Forty-five percent of respondents treat patients ...

This article describes the history and current status of the practice of hospital-based accident and emergency (A&E) medicine in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Included are comments on training and certification, the operations of the typical A&E department, and developments in research and academics. Also included ...

The American Board of Emergency Medicine gathers extensive background information on emergency medicine residents and the programs in which they train. We present the second annual report on the status of US emergency medicine residency programs. [American Board of Emergency Medicine: Report of the Task Force on Residency Training Information ...

This study aimed to identify the emergency medicine training needs of rural general practitioners (GPs) in the catchment area of the Hunter Rural Division of General Practice. The GPs were surveyed using a questionnaire in which they were asked about their confidence levels in a number of specific emergency medicine ...

The number of people exposed to CS spray presenting to accident and emergency departments is on the increase. Its effects, though usually minor and short lived, involve several systems and can occasionally be life threatening. It is therefore important that staff are able to manage these patients and know when ...

Africa's first conference on emergency medicine was held in October 1998 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Attended by 305 delegates from 13 countries, it was an important milestone in the development of Africa, emergency medicine's last frontier. The violence of South Africa's post-apartheid society was portrayed in mock scenario demonstrations of ...

If not handled quickly and effectively, animal health emergencies can create significant problems for governments and industry. Placing strong emphasis on preventing a disease incursion in the first instance through the judicious use of quarantine and inspection measures will continue to be the major preventive strategy. However, the discovery of ...

Expert and definitive airway management is fundamental to the practice of emergency medicine. In critically ill patients, rapid sedation and paralysis, also known as rapid-sequence intubation, is used to facilitate endotracheal intubation in order to minimize aspiration, airway trauma, and other complications of airway management. An alternative method of emergent ...

What began in 1948 as a "Casualty and Outpatient Service" at the Singapore General Hospital grew into the first 24-hour emergency unit in 1964 and has since expanded to the current emergency departments of the 6 public hospitals providing acute 24-hour accident and emergency services with an annual patient load ...

BACKGROUND: A previous study produced a protocol for outpatient management of febrile infants (FIs) judged to be at low risk for serious bacterial illness (SBI). This Philadelphia protocol demonstrated that 40% of FIs seen in the emergency department could be safely managed without antibiotics at home; and it was established ...

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the emergency drugs and equipment possessed by general dental practitioners (GDPs), the treatment provided and drugs used in management of the medical emergency events they reported. DESIGN: Postal questionnaire survey of a random sample of GDPs in Great Britain. SUBJECTS: 1500 GDPs, 1000 in England & Wales ...

Emergency medicine (EM) will change over the next 20 years more than any other specialty. Its proximity to and interrelationships with the community, nearly all other clinicians (physicians and nonphysicians), and scientific/technologic developments guarantee this. While emergency physicians (EPs) will continue to treat both emergent and nonemergent patients, over the ...

Facilities within the Department of Energy community perform emergency management to conform with Federal regulations, internal guidance and good management practice. Emergency management in this context includes hazard analysis, consequence assessment, and development of emergency plans including protective actions for workers, uninvolved workers, and the general public. ERPGs are used ...

Emergency and crisis management pose multidimensional information systems challenges for communities across North America. In the quest to reduce mortality and morbidity risks and to increase the level of crisis preparedness, regional emergency management networks have evolved. Integrated Crisis Support Systems (ICSS) are enabling information technologies that assist emergency managers ...

Emergency medicine is being established as a unique and independent specialty throughout the world. Two major models of emergency care delivery exist in the world today: the Anglo-American and the Franco-German model. Most countries developing new systems of emergency care are following the Anglo-American model and are recapitulating the sequence ...

Procedural sedation and analgesia are core skills in emergency medicine. Various specialty societies have developed guidelines for procedural sedation, each reflecting the perspective of the specialty group. Emergency practitioners are most likely to embrace guidelines developed by people who understand emergency department (ED) skills, procedures, conditions, and case mix. Recognizing ...

The Thredbo Landslide occurred just before midnight on Wednesday, July 30th, 1997. The first call was received by the Regional Fire Communications and subsequently to Sydney where a multiagency response to the first Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) incident in Australia occurred. After ten days, eighteen bodies had been recovered ...

The pulse oximeter has become an essential tool in the modern practice of emergency medicine. However, despite the reliance placed on the information this monitor offers, the underlying principles and associated limitations of pulse oximetry are poorly understood by medical practitioners. This article reviews the principles of pulse oximetry, with ...

Debate has currently re-emerged following a renewed warning issued from the Committee on the Safety of Medicines (CSM) regarding the relative risk of ototoxicity from the use of aminoglycoside-containing drops in patients with tympanic membrane perforations. We present the findings of a survey of ENT consultants, questioning their views and ...

Emergency medicine has developed rapidly in South Korea in the past decade, giving Korea one of the most advanced systems of emergency medical care in Asia. This article reviews the overall health care system and medical climate in Korea, as well as the great progress made in establishing emergency medicine ...

The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM), with the support and participation of the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM), the Council of Residency Directors (CORD), the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), the Emergency Medicine Residents Association (EMRA), the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM), and the Association of ...

OBJECTIVE: To survey academic departments of emergency medicine (ADEMs) concerning the effects of managed care on their operation and practice. METHODS: A 38-question survey was mailed to the chairs of all 52 ADEMs in the United States requesting information concerning managed care activity and its effects on ADEMs in academic ...

The aim of the study was to assess provisions for management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), emergency contraception and pregnancy test in UK emergency departments. Postal questionnaires were sent to all consultant-led emergency departments in the UK in January 1996. The response rate was 64%. Most departments made direct referrals ...

The keeping of fish as pets is a hobby that has experienced increasing popularity over the past decade. The hobby has also become more sophisticated in recent years and a growing number of veterinarians are gaining clinical experience and knowledge in the area of pet fish medicine. The opportunity to ...

Managing avian flock emergencies requires a thorough history, physical examination, and record review before instituting appropriate therapy. Although the general thought processes are similar between approaching a sick individual bird and a "diseased" aviary, the actual steps are different. Infectious diseases are often a component of aviary emergencies but are ...

The clinician has few medical and surgical options for managing life-threatening uterine hemorrhage. Hormone therapy often fails to arrest the bleeding. Hysterectomy under these emergency circumstances is also not optimal. Emergency endometrial ablation was successful in stopping exsanguinating uterine hemorrhage in three women and may be an important alternative in ...

The Italian health care system is largely socialized, with priorities and policies established both nationally and regionally. Currently emergency medicine in Italy is practiced mainly by traditional specialists, such as internists and surgeons, and the scope of emergency medicine practice is not as broad as that seen in the United ...

Emergency medicine in Hong Kong is a relatively new specialty. Substantial progress toward recognition of emergency medicine in the territory has occurred during the past 2 years, and the Hong Kong College of Emergency Medicine is now formally recognized by the Royal College of Surgeons in the United Kingdom. With ...

To compare medical records of patients treated for acute low back pain in the departments of Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Occupational Medicine and Emergency Medicine in an academic medical center to determine if there was variation in patient population, diagnostic and treatment procedures and outcomes. Records were randomly reviewed using ...

Managing knowledge is emerging as the latest business strategy to get ahead of the competition. In the process of developing knowledge management systems, executives are increasing their awareness and understanding of organizational dynamics, collaboration, corporate learning and knowledge management technology. But Donald E.L. Johnson writes that health care executives must ...

The Joint Committee for Higher Medical Training has issued a core curriculum for training in accident and emergency medicine. This article highlights some of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes one may usefully gain from a period of 6-12 months in general practice and how this can be integrated and adapted ...

Emergency medicine is growing rapidly as a specialty and is beginning to be recognized as an essential component of medicine in China. Traditional Chinese medicine and modern technology exist together. A description of the US authors' experience as consultants at a new emergency department and in establishing an emergency medicine ...

End-tidal carbon dioxide (PetCO2) monitoring is becoming more common in both the ED and the out-of-hospital setting. Its main use has been as an aid when confirming endotracheal intubation. Other uses in the ED include monitoring CPR efforts and monitoring the ventilatory and hemodynamic status of intubated and nonintubated patients. ...

Originally Dr. Rod Elford had planned to pursue a career in sports medicine. An introduction to space medicine and the possibilities inherent in telemedicine changed all that, and last year he became the first Canadian physician to complete a clinical fellowship in this emerging field. Observers think he is likely ...