What can a long-running intubation registry tell us about airway care in the emergency department? This 2015 journal club examines Scottish data on intubation success, collaboration with anaesthetists and training, while considering missing records and the limitations of combining practice across fourteen years.
JC: ED RSI – you can do it. St.Emlyn’s Read More
Which balance of plasma, platelets and red cells should be used in major traumatic haemorrhage? This 2015 appraisal of the PROPPR trial examines mortality, haemostasis and deaths from bleeding, considering study power and the practical challenges of interpreting the results for transfusion protocols.
JC: Getting the Balance Right: The PROPPR Trial Read More
Which patients with blunt chest trauma are most likely to develop complications? This 2015 journal club examines the derivation and validation of a prognostic score, considering outcome definitions, reliability of recorded risk factors and the further evidence needed before a model should guide admission or discharge.
JC: What’s the ‘best’ test for a broken chest? Read More
A 2014 appraisal of MR CLEAN, an early positive trial of intra-arterial treatment for selected patients with acute ischaemic stroke. Simon Carley examines imaging-based selection, pragmatic treatment choices and functional outcomes, while asking how confidently one trial could support wider adoption at the time.
JC: Intra-arterial treatment for Stroke Read More
This 2014 journal club examines the PARAMEDIC trial of mechanical versus manual CPR in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Alongside the cluster-randomised design and survival findings, Simon Carley reflects on separating life support from treatment of the underlying cause and how resuscitation teams divide their attention.
JC: PARAMEDIC trial m-CPR at St.Emlyn’s Read More
Could a follow-up phone call reduce return visits after a child leaves the emergency department? This 2014 appraisal examines a Canadian study in which callers collected concerns without answering them, questioning allocation methods, outcome measurement and whether reattendance alone can tell us that care was better or worse.
JC – Just Checking: Do Follow-Up Phone Calls Reduce Reattendance to PED? Read More
Does a lack of evidence for benefit mean paramedic trauma training does not work? This 2014 critique of a Cochrane review examines its small, dated and methodologically limited evidence base, distinguishing uncertainty about educational interventions from a justification for withdrawing investment in training.
JC: Is there any point teaching paramedics? St.Emlyn’s Read More
Can CT measurements identify which older patients with acute subdural haematoma need neurosurgical referral? This 2014 journal club examines a proposed decision tool, questioning selection bias, measurement reliability and how a ‘surgical’ bleed was defined, and explaining why promising retrospective findings still need validation.
JC: When a subdural needs surgery in the elderly. St. Emlyn’s Read More
