‘Similar to an acute myocardial ischaemic attack and an acute brain attack, the speed and appropriateness of therapy administered in the initial hours after the syndrome develops are likely to...
It is estimated there are at least 100 000 cases of severe sepsis each year in the UK, although the true prevalence of sepsis may be higher due to under recognition (Cronshaw et al, 2011). Mortality...
Borderline personality disorder is termed a ‘serious psychiatric disorder’ (Perseius et al, 2007) and is associated with a high rate of suicide. It is associated with transient mood shifts,...
Pericarditis is the inflammation of the pericardium around the heart. Pericarditis can be broken down into two major groups that cause this disease: infectious (accounting for two thirds of the...
An internet-based survey entitled the National Ambulance Service Airway Management Audit was created using the Bristol University Online Survey Tool (University of Bristol; www.survey.bris.ac.uk). The...
The prevalence of adrenal insufficiency in the UK is 110 to 120 per million and rising (Simmons–Holcomb, 2006). Chakera and Vaidya (2009) observe that Addison's disease has an incidence of 4.7–6.2 per...
Because bacterial meningitis is life-threatening, early diagnosis and treatment is vital (Brouwer et al, 2012)—the necessity of which is underlined in a study that demonstrated an association between...
Before reviewing the available technology, it is worth briefly outlining the history of technology in medicine, referred to as ‘telemedicine’. Utilising technology for health care is actually an old...
Oxygen transportation occurs when there is a diffusion of gases that move from higher concentrations to lower concentrations. The oxygen content of blood is bound to haemoglobin and is dissolved in...
Pain scoring and indeed pain management has widely been studied in the pre-hospital environment, with many different aspects explored. These include paramedic perspectives (Jones and Machen, 2003),...