Emergency Medicine

What changed when Sepsis-3 was introduced in 2016? This overview explains the shift towards organ dysfunction, the roles proposed for SOFA and qSOFA, and revised septic-shock definitions, while noting early concerns about applicability and performance across different clinical settings.

A fictional Robocop trauma case provides the framework for this tour of NICE’s 2016 major-trauma guidance. The post follows care from scene to hospital, discusses areas of controversy and highlights unanswered research questions, with links to the full guidance and an accompanying infographic.

Can medical-grade skin adhesive reduce peripheral cannula failure? This 2016 appraisal examines a randomised trial of cyanoacrylate alongside standard dressings, considering the reported benefit, lack of blinding, follow-up methods, costs and the patient experience of removing the cannula.

Why do unfinished jobs keep occupying our attention during a busy shift? This introduction to cognitive ‘bandwidth’ explores working memory, interruptions and the Zeigarnik effect, considering how unresolved tasks and growing expertise can influence the mental resources available for emergency care.

Can website traffic and social-media popularity tell us how useful FOAMed is? This critique examines the Social Media Index’s measures and their limitations. A 2017 update softens the original criticism, recognising the index’s contribution to developing academic approaches to online education.

A January 2016 introduction to the emerging Zika outbreak for UK emergency clinicians. The post discusses travel history, symptoms, alternative diagnoses and public-health support, alongside the concerns then developing around pregnancy and neurological complications. It records the outbreak’s early context rather than current travel advice.