Journal Club

St Emlyn's launched its Twitter journal club in 2012 to take critical appraisal beyond the department. This post explains how shared papers, live discussion and subsequent blog summaries were intended to help colleagues learn together despite different locations and shifts.

Could changing D-dimer thresholds reduce unnecessary CT pulmonary angiography? This 2012 journal club examines a retrospective study, questioning how patients were selected, how risk was assessed and whether small subgroups can support changes to investigation pathways.

Can ultrasound improve assessment of suspected skin and soft tissue infection in children? This 2012 journal club introduction questions whether finding an abscess necessarily improves outcomes, and raises concern about unnecessary interventions before linking to further ultrasound learning resources.

Does tissue oxygen monitoring add useful information in sepsis? This 2012 journal club examines a small observational study of StO2, asking whether it contributes beyond lactate and conventional observations, and distinguishing an association with survival from evidence that monitoring improves patient care.

This 2012 journal club compares prasugrel with clopidogrel in acute coronary syndromes managed without revascularisation. Beyond the treatment comparison, it examines composite outcomes, all-cause mortality and confidence intervals, showing why the choice of endpoint can complicate interpretation of a clinical trial.

Does patient-controlled analgesia improve pain relief in the emergency department? This 2012 appraisal examines a randomised trial in acute abdominal pain, considering blinding, exclusions, the comparison treatment and how pain was measured, with additional explanations of area under the curve and block randomisation.