What happens when James Lind’s scurvy experiment meets a modern critical appraisal checklist? Written for International Clinical Trials Day 2015, this deliberately playful review uses the historic study to explain randomisation, outcome definitions, statistical uncertainty and how expectations of clinical research have changed.
JC: An International Clinical Trials Day Special Read More
How much does describing chest pain as ‘typical’ tell us about the final diagnosis? Simon Carley reviews a 2015 observational study of clinician judgement, questioning the value of experience alone and examining how patient selection, specificity and the presentation of diagnostic performance affect interpretation.
JC: Are typical chest pain symptoms predictive of outcome? St.Emlyn’s Read More
This 2015 journal club examines a trial comparing intravenous lorazepam and diazepam for children with convulsive status epilepticus. Alongside seizure control and adverse effects, the appraisal explores blinding, per-protocol analysis and why failing to demonstrate superiority does not prove that the treatments are equivalent.
JC: One Benzo Fits All? Lorazepam vs Diazepam for Paediatric Status Epilepticus Read More
Are emergency departments giving people with mental health problems the attention and compassion they need? This 2015 reflection challenges dismissive attitudes, considers assessment and follow-up for adults and children, and argues that stretched services do not remove the responsibility to treat patients with dignity and respect.
Are We Doing All We Can For Mental Health? St.Emlyn’s Read More
Simon Carley selects ten trauma papers from 2014–2015, with an accompanying discussion with Simon Laing. The review spans transfusion, brain injury, prehospital care, airway management, haemorrhage prediction and thoracotomy, linking to the original studies and highlighting questions raised by this period’s trauma research.
Top 10 Trauma papers 2014-2015. St.Emlyn’s Read More
Can a subdissociative dose of ketamine provide comparable pain relief to intravenous morphine? This 2015 journal club examines a small emergency department trial, considering pain scores, rescue analgesia, adverse effects and blinding, while explaining why failure to find a difference does not establish equivalence.
JC: K is Good For You – Subdissociative Ketamine vs Morphine in the ED Read More
How did sepsis guidance respond to ProMISe, ProCESS and ARISE? This 2015 commentary examines changes to the Surviving Sepsis Campaign care bundles, particularly the shift away from mandatory central venous targets, and considers the resulting choices around assessing circulation and response to treatment.
Sepsis 2015: EGDT without the “G”? Read More
How can emergency departments reduce delays for patients who need transfer for primary PCI? This 2015 account of Manchester’s DIDO-30 project examines early ECG recording, recognition and escalation, with practical ideas for improving pathways through staff feedback, shared responsibility and rehearsing the whole process.
Good times part 1: DIDO-30 for STEMI Read More
