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Ambulance to ED handovers
The development of standard procedures of communication in patient handovers is one of WHO's top five priorities for patient safety in developed countries. Miscommunication between professionals appears to be the main source of errors and mishaps. A review article suggests a number of improvement strategies to optimise communication between EMS providers and emergency department clinicians. These include the use of standardised tools to structure handover information and the transmission of patient information electronically. However, it is not clear what impact cultural differences, such as language between professions, has on the handover process. Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavia (2013;57:964–70).
Spinal immobilisation
Methods of spinal immobilisation in patients with possible spinal injury were compared in a randomised controlled trial. Patients transported by the Emergency Medical Services were immobilised using either the long backboard or a vacuum mattress splint. The long backboard was faster to apply, and demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in comfort and decreased spinal movement. Prehosp Disaster Med (2013;28:462–5).
Gastrointestinal trauma in children
Children present infrequently …