Natalie May takes us through the basics of breastfeeding and how we can look after patients who are breastfeeding when they present to the ED.
Lacto Basics – Breastfeeding in the Emergency Department Read More
Natalie May shares notes from day two of the 2021 Paediatric Emergencies Colloquium. The sessions cover paediatric pain management and sedation, acute respiratory distress syndrome and toxicology, combining conference learning with her own clinical reflections.
Paediatric dental trauma, metabolic emergencies and vaping feature in Natalie May’s notes from day one of the 2021 Paediatric Emergencies Colloquium. She draws out practical learning points from the virtual meeting and reflects on their relevance to emergency care.
How well do guidelines identify meningococcal disease in children with fever and a non-blanching rash? Natalie May reviews the PiC study, examining sensitivity, overtreatment and what happened when clinicians departed from protocols, while keeping the study population and limitations in view.
JC: Spot the Difference, what can we do about petechiae? St Emlyn’s Read More
Could carotid ultrasound make pulse checks more reliable? Natalie May examines a proof-of-concept study using recordings from patients undergoing cardiac surgery, and explains why interpreting those images is a different challenge from obtaining and using them during a real cardiac arrest.
JC: Finger on the Pulse? Read More
Can TEG or ROTEM improve outcomes when added to major haemorrhage care? Natalie May reviews the iTACTIC trial’s comparison with conventional coagulation testing, separating faster treatment decisions from demonstrated patient benefit and examining the limits of its size and subgroup findings.
JC: Blood Products in Trauma – What’s the Best (I)TACTIC? Read More
Natalie May reflects on emotions in emergency medicine, drawing on her experience of postnatal anxiety and depression. She explores why clinicians bottle up feelings and introduces a self-validation approach: acknowledging, allowing and understanding emotions without judging ourselves for having them.
Head Vs Heart: Opening the Box. St Emlyn’s Read More
Can virtual reality make venepuncture and cannulation less painful for children? Natalie May appraises a 2019 randomised study, examining pain scores, differences between clinical settings and feedback from children and carers, while considering the limits and practicalities of this distraction technique.
JC: Virtual Reality for Distraction from Paediatric Procedural Pain Read More
