A 2013 journal club examines a randomised trial comparing GlideScope video laryngoscopy with direct laryngoscopy in trauma patients. It considers survival, uncertainty around a small head-injury subgroup and whether results from a specialist trauma centre apply across emergency medicine.
How should we approach petechiae in a child who appears well? This 2013 review explores causes beyond meningococcal disease, the uncertainty around investigation, and safeguarding considerations, emphasising the importance of the wider history, examination and discussion with colleagues.
Alan Grayson describes volunteering with Festival Medical Services at Glastonbury in 2013. His account explores the planning, multidisciplinary teamwork and varied presentations behind festival healthcare, from minor injuries to critical illness, and the challenges of delivering emergency care in a field hospital.
When rapid CT is available, what does FAST ultrasound add to trauma care? In this 2013 opinion piece, Simon Carley questions the place of FAST in basic ultrasound training, linking curriculum choices to patient benefit while acknowledging settings where CT is less accessible.
Could a small chest drain with a Heimlich valve allow selected patients with pneumothorax to receive outpatient care? This 2013 journal club examines a systematic review, weighing encouraging reports against variable study quality, limited randomised evidence and unanswered questions about patient selection.
A 2013 invitation to scrutinise proposals for faster access to stroke thrombolysis. The post links competing discussions about the evidence and asks how assumptions about benefit should inform investment in prehospital pathways and hospital processes.