A 2013 reflection on resuscitating patients with suspected recreational drug-induced hyperthermia when the history is incomplete. It explores diagnostic uncertainty, cooling, complications and difficult airway decisions, emphasising the limits of the evidence and the role of specialist poisons advice.
JC: Recreational drug induced hyperthermia. St.Emlyn’s Read More
Could surgical fixation help patients with flail chest who need ventilatory support? This 2013 journal club examines a small study using historical controls, exploring promising findings alongside selection bias, differences between groups and the need for stronger comparative evidence.
JC: Is surgical fixation of rib fractures ready for a comeback? St.Emlyn’s Read More
Can one CT scan reliably investigate coronary artery disease, pulmonary embolism and aortic dissection in patients with chest pain? This 2013 review of triple rule-out CT examines diagnostic accuracy, patient selection and reference standards, asking whether the evidence establishes a meaningful benefit for emergency patients.
JC: Triple Rule Out CT – are the rays worth it? St.Emlyn’s Read More
A SMACC 2013 presentation on risk in emergency medicine, with a video and accompanying slides. Its deliberately provocative outline challenges how clinicians think about diagnosis, uncertainty and the risks they take in everyday practice.
Wrestling with Risk at SMACC 2013 St.Emlyn’s Read More
How safe is propofol sedation when delivered by emergency physicians? This 2013 journal club reviews a single-centre audit of 1,008 cases, distinguishing transient adverse events from lasting harm and considering how training, supervision and patient selection affect the relevance of its findings elsewhere.
JC: ED physicians are not Propofol Assassins – St.Emlyn’s Read More
Should patients without ST elevation receive coronary intervention after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest? This 2013 review explores observational evidence, presenting rhythms, symptoms and ECG findings, while emphasising that associations with survival do not establish a benefit caused by the intervention.
PCI for OOHCA with NSTEMI post ROSC? An acronym too far? Read More
Distraction during a child’s procedure starts well before the procedure itself. Rick Body explores the child’s and parents’ perspectives, clinicians’ emotions, first impressions and preparation, showing how rapport and a personalised distraction plan fit into care in the paediatric emergency department.
Driving children to distraction: Techniques for the PED Read More
Does prehospital fluid resuscitation improve survival after trauma? This 2013 journal club challenges the interpretation of an observational study, examining the difference between its headline, unadjusted mortality figures and adjusted analysis, alongside selection bias and uncertainty from a small sample.
JC: PROMMT Pre-hospital fluids for trauma – do they improve survival? Read More
