Emergency Medicine

Can helicopter emergency medical services improve survival after traumatic cardiac arrest? This 2019 appraisal examines a retrospective UK cohort, distinguishing procedures and return of circulation from survival to hospital discharge, and questioning what a small, uncontrolled dataset can tell us about benefit.

Revisit a year of critical appraisal with the St Emlyn’s 2018 collection. This post introduces an ebook bringing together journal club discussions of prehospital, emergency and critical care research, with links to the book in several formats and to other St Emlyn’s publications.

Could serum neurofilament light chain help predict neurological outcomes after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest? Dan Horner’s 2019 appraisal examines an analysis of TTM trial samples, considering promising test performance alongside validation gaps, false predictions and the risks of relying on a biomarker in isolation.

Should adults receive midazolam or haloperidol before ketamine sedation in the ED? This 2019 trial appraisal weighs reduced agitation against longer recovery, examines the study’s size and outcome measures, and asks whether observed behaviour captures what matters to patients.

Clare Richmond discusses continuing development in prehospital and resuscitation practice in this presentation recorded at St Emlyn’s Live 2018. The accompanying introduction describes her focus on principles, training and practice, with a recording for clinicians interested in developing themselves and their colleagues.

This January 2019 update examines the November 2018 changes to the UK Green Book’s tetanus guidance. Chris Gray discusses wound classification, vaccination and immunoglobulin recommendations, then considers the evidence and unanswered questions behind those changes. It is a historical guideline discussion.