Why did mortality remain so high among hypotensive patients needing emergency trauma laparotomy? Rich Carden’s 2018 discussion examines earlier studies, delays to surgery and damage control care, then explains the need for more detailed data and the planned TELA audit.
What’s the bleeding problem with trauma laparotomies?! Read More
Revisit the November 2018 St Emlyn’s podcast roundup and its accompanying reading list. Linked posts explore cognitive load, learning in the social age, a medical elective in South Africa and cardiac arrest care, with further reflections from the FemInEM Ideas Exchange.
Podcast – November 2018 Monthly Round Up Read More
What makes a clinical handover work when a critically ill patient arrives? Drawing on a 2018 Intensive Care Society presentation, this post explores preparation, team attention, structured communication and follow-up. It offers adaptable principles for sharing essential information while recognising that urgent treatment sometimes takes priority.
Handover. Process, practice and controversy. #ICSSOA2018. St Emlyn’s Read More
Can some traumatic pneumothoraces and haemothoraces be managed without a chest drain? This 2018 appraisal examines a UK observational study, including patients receiving positive-pressure ventilation. It considers selection bias, the limits of a single-centre dataset and the importance of monitoring when conservative management is chosen.
JC: Conservative management of chest trauma. St Emlyn’s Read More
Why return to whole blood in major trauma? Zaf Qasim reviews the military experience, early civilian studies and practical challenges of introducing a whole-blood programme. This 2018 overview considers compatibility, storage and transfusion risks while acknowledging the limits of the evidence for civilian patients.
Whole Blood in Major Trauma – Everything old is new again Read More
Does early hypothermia improve outcomes after traumatic brain injury? This review of the 2018 POLAR trial examines its patient selection, cooling strategy and six-month neurological outcomes. It discusses the absence of demonstrated benefit in this population and why the findings cannot answer every question about rescue cooling.
JC: Hypothermia in brain injury: The POLAR trial. St Emlyn’s. Read More
This introduction to St Emlyn’s 2018 wellbeing e-book brings together reflections on working in emergency and acute care. Edited by Simon Carley and Laura Howard, the collection draws on the team’s experiences of pressure, fatigue and balancing professional and personal lives, with self-care at its centre.
The Resuscitationist’s Guide to Health and Wellbeing. A St Emlyn’s e-book. Read More
Should police transport patients with penetrating trauma when an ambulance is unavailable? This 2018 review explores Philadelphia’s experience, weighing speed and access against the absence of care en route, unpredictable arrivals and wider trauma-system risks. It considers why coordination between police, EMS and hospitals matters.
JC: “To Protect and Serve…and Drop Off”. Penetrating Trauma in Philadelphia. St Emlyn’s Read More
