A 2015 clinical review of torticollis, from a painful neck on waking to presentations associated with injury, medication, infection or neurological disease. It explores assessment across adults and children, highlighting why persistent symptoms, associated illness and follow-up matter when an apparently minor complaint may need another explanation.
Can a subdissociative dose of ketamine provide comparable pain relief to intravenous morphine? This 2015 journal club examines a small emergency department trial, considering pain scores, rescue analgesia, adverse effects and blinding, while explaining why failure to find a difference does not establish equivalence.
What can a long-running intubation registry tell us about airway care in the emergency department? This 2015 journal club examines Scottish data on intubation success, collaboration with anaesthetists and training, while considering missing records and the limitations of combining practice across fourteen years.
Iain Beardsell shares his SMACC Gold talk on chronic pain and the personal story behind it. His account follows the preparation, self-doubt and decision to include his family’s experience, showing how that experience shaped his desire to improve care for patients living with persistent pain.
Pain relief alone may not address what brings distress to patients in the emergency department. This 2014 research discussion explores suffering beyond pain and introduces EPICC: attending to emotional distress, physical symptoms, information, basic care and closure, informed by patients’ accounts of what they needed.
How safe is propofol sedation when delivered by emergency physicians? This 2013 journal club reviews a single-centre audit of 1,008 cases, distinguishing transient adverse events from lasting harm and considering how training, supervision and patient selection affect the relevance of its findings elsewhere.
Practical perspectives on trauma care and team leadership.
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