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.
JC: Diagnostic panacea? USS that paeds abscess? Read More
Procedural sedation involves more than choosing a favourite drug. Using contrasting ankle-injury scenarios, this 2012 discussion explores how analgesia, sedation, anxiety relief and amnesia contribute to a plan tailored to the patient’s needs and existing medical problems.
Balanced Sedation in the ED Read More
Can case conferences help teams learn without becoming an exercise in blame? Rick Body uses a hypothetical asthma emergency to explore constructive reflection, fair feedback and the importance of recognising good care alongside opportunities to improve.
Is this what we mean by critical care? Feedback at St.Emlyn’s Read More
How much diagnostic uncertainty can clinicians and patients accept? Part three of Risky Business explores how percentages and natural frequencies shape risk perception, and why missed disease must be weighed alongside the harms of further testing and the patient’s perspective.
Who needs thromboprophylaxis after lower-limb immobilisation? This 2012 discussion introduces College of Emergency Medicine guidance, considers the evidence for ambulatory trauma patients and argues for individual VTE risk assessment rather than treating every plaster cast in the same way.
The POP, the Chief, his risk assessment and her thromboprophylaxis Read More
What can the capnography trace tell a resuscitation team beyond airway position? This 2012 reflection explores its use in assessing compressions, recognising possible return of circulation and informing difficult decisions, while emphasising the limitations of interpreting end-tidal carbon dioxide in isolation.
ALS: Airway, Breathing, Capnography??? Read More
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.
JC StO2 monitoring in the ED. St.Emlyn’s Read More
How much difference does an individual emergency physician make? Simon Carley uses the idea of a personal number needed to treat to explore teamwork, meaningful outcomes and professional worth, before proposing a more useful comparison: whether you are improving on your own previous practice.
