Emergency Medicine Commons^™

Uchunguzi (Journal Watch/Montre De Journal) April 2014, Benjamin Wachira

Family Medicine, East Africa

Content: If you want to know how we practised medicine 5 years ago, read a textbook. If you want to know how we practised medicine 2 years ago, read a journal. If you want to know how we practise medicine now, go to a (good) conference. If you want to know how we will practise medicine in the future, listen in the hallways and use FOAM (Joe Lex, 2012). FOAM is free, open-access medical education. As stated in the Hippocratic Oath: “…and to teach them this art – if they desire to learn it – without fee and covenant”, the …

Acute Management Of St-Elevation Myocardial Infarction In A Tertiary Hospital In Kenya: Are We Complying With Practice Guidelines?, Benjamin Wachira, Andrew Owuor, Harun Otieno

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Introduction: Current practice guidelines emphasize the importance of rapid reperfusion of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The aim of this study was to evaluate the current rate of compliance with evidence-based practice guidelines for the management of STEMI patients at a tertiary hospital in Kenya.

Methods: This was a retrospective chart review. Data on patient characteristics, emergency treatment, and outcomes were collected on adults admitted with a diagnosis of STEMI from January 2012 to February 2013.

Results: Data were collected for 45 patient presentations. There were 37 male patients (82%). The mean age was 59.7 ± 3.8 years. Of …

Uchunguzi (Journal Watch/Montre De Journal) December 2014, Benjamin Wachira

Family Medicine, East Africa

No abstract provided.

Glucocorticoids Induced Allergic Reaction, Emad Uddin Siddiqui, Shakeel Ahmed

Department of Emergency Medicine

Glucocorticoids can cause allergic reaction in rare cases. A ten year old boy, known asthmatic, was treated with intramuscular injection of glucocorticoids, followed by nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. His lips turned pale along with palpitation and light headache. His right eye lid and lower lip were swollen. Heart rate was 177/min, and BP was 66/46 mmHg,. Patient spontaneously improved and symptoms resolved. IV fluids bolus, antihistamines or epinephrine were not required. The case was seen in September 2012.

Importance Of Clinical Toxicology Teaching And Its Impact In Improving Knowledge: Sharing Experience From A Workshop, Nadeem Ullah Khan, Jabeen Fayyaz, Uzma Rahim Khan, Asher Feroze

Department of Emergency Medicine

Objective: To assess the impact of a one-day clinical toxicology workshop in improving knowledge.Methods: A one-day clinical toxicology workshop was conducted as a pre-conference workshop of the Annual Emergency Medicine Conference at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, in April 2012. The course was composed of poisoning-related common clinical scenarios. The pre-test and post-test understanding was used to assess the impact of the course in improving knowledge. The participants also evaluated the workshop as a whole thorough written evaluation forms. SPSS 19 was ued for statistical analysis of the data.RESULT: There were 22 participants in the course. The pre-test mean …

Salmonella Cholecystitis: Atypical Presentation Of A Typical Condition, Rehan Ali, Shakeel Ahmed, Maqbool Qadir, Huba Atiq, Muhammad Hamid

Department of Emergency Medicine

Salmonella cholecystitis is a rare but important complication of Salmonella typhi infection. We are reporting an 11 years old female child who presented with complaints of high-grade fever, jaundice and right sided abdominal pain (Charcot's triad). Her examination showed tender hepatomegaly. Initial blood results revealed high white cell counts with left shift, deranged liver function tests. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed distended gallbladder with minimal layer of sludge seen within its lumen along with streak of pericholecystic fluid. Blood culture grew Salmonella typhi. She was successfully treated with intravenous ceftriaxone.

Strengthening Paediatric Emergency Medicine In Pakistan Is Our Need To Reach Millennium Development Goal 4., Emaduddin Siddiqui, Kiran Ejaz

Department of Emergency Medicine

No abstract provided.

Pattern Of Emergency Department Visits By Elderly Patients: Study From A Tertiary Care Hospital, Karachi, Jabeen Fayyaz, Munawar Khursheed, Mohammed Umer Mir, Uzma Rahim Khan

Department of Emergency Medicine

Background

Worldwide the proportion of elderly people in the population is increasing. Currently in Pakistan 7.3 million people (5.6% of total population) are more than 60 years old. This age shift has emerged as an important health issue and is associated with an increased utilization of emergency services by the elderly. We carried out this study to assess the pattern of elderly patients (>60 years) who visit emergency departments in comparison to young adults (18–60 years).

Methods

Data was collected retrospectively of patients aged 18 years or more who visited the Emergency Department (ED) of Aga Khan University Hospital, …

Unintentional Childhood Poisoning, Epidemiology And Strategies For The Prevention And Policy Change In Pakistan, Omer Ul Hassan, Hasana Qadri, Umer Mir, Bilal Ahmed

Department of Medicine

Poisoning is the fifth leading cause of unintentional injuries among young children. Agents most commonly ingested by young children include medicines, cleaning substances, hydrocarbons, pesticides and cosmetics. Children with less educated fathers, living in more crowded conditions and from lower income families are more predisposed to unintentional poisoning. Unsafe storage of medicines, chemicals and other hazardous substances is one of the leading reasons for childhood poisoning. Knowledge of parents and caregivers about prevention of poisoning may be the basis to prevent subsequent injuries. This paper is a review of the epidemiology of unintentional poisonings among young children (less than five …

Presenting Budget In A Research Grant Application, Junaid Ahmed Bhatti, Umbreen Akhtar, Bilal Arshed Butt, Naveed Zafar Janjua

Department of Emergency Medicine

No abstract provided.

Uchunguzi (Journal Watch/Montre De Journal) June 2013, Benjamin Wachira

Family Medicine, East Africa

No abstract provided.

Major Incidents In Kenya: The Case For Emergency Services Development And Training, Benjamin Wachira, Wayne Smith

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Kenya's major incidents profile is dominated by droughts, floods, fires, terrorism, poisoning, collapsed buildings, accidents in the transport sector and disease/epidemics. With no integrated emergency services and a lack of resources, many incidents in Kenya escalate to such an extent that they become major incidents. Lack of specific training of emergency services personnel to respond to major incidents, poor coordination of major incident management activities, and a lack of standard operational procedures and emergency operation plans have all been shown to expose victims to increased morbidity and mortality. This report provides a review of some of the major incidents in …

Development And Pilot Implementation Of A Locally Developed Trauma Registry: Lessons Learnt In A Low-Income Country, Amber Mehmood, Junaid Abdul Razzak, Sarah Kabir, Ellen J. Mackenzie, Adnan A. Hyder

Department of Emergency Medicine

Background

Trauma registries (TRs) play an integral role in the assessment of trauma care quality. TRs are still uncommon in developing countries owing to awareness and cost. We present a case study of development and pilot implementation of “Karachi Trauma Registry” (KITR), using existing medical records at a tertiary-care hospital of Karachi, Pakistan to present results of initial data and describe its process of implementation.

Methods

KITR is a locally developed, customized, electronic trauma registry based on open source software designed by local software developers in Karachi. Data for KITR was collected from November 2010 to January 2011. All patients …

Disseminating Childhood Home Injury Risk Reduction Information In Pakistan: Results From A Community-Based Pilot Study, Aruna Chandran, Uzma Rahim Khan, Nukhba Zia, Asher Feroze, Sarah Stewart De Ramirez, Cheng-Ming Huang, Junaid A. Razzak, Adnan A. Hyder

Department of Emergency Medicine

Background: Most childhood unintentional injuries occur in the home; however, very little home injury prevention information is tailored to developing countries. Utilizing our previously developed information dissemination tools and a hazard assessment checklist tailored to a low-income neighborhood in Pakistan, we pilot tested and compared the effectiveness of two dissemination tools.

Methods: Two low-income neighborhoods were mapped, identifying families with a child aged between 12 and 59 months. In June and July 2010, all enrolled households underwent a home hazard assessment at the same time hazard reduction education was being given using an in-home tutorial or a pamphlet. …

School-Based Injury Outcomes In Children From A Low-Income Setting: Results From The Pilot Injury Surveillance In Rawalpindi City, Pakistan, Uzma Rahim Khan, Junaid A. Bhatti, Nukhba Zia, Umar Farooq

Department of Emergency Medicine

Background

School-based injuries account for one in five unintentional childhood injuries. Little is known about the epidemiology of school-based injuries in low-income settings. The objective of our study was to compare emergency department (ED) outcomes of the school-based injuries with respect to age, sex, and injury mechanisms in a Pakistani urban setting.

Findings

A pilot injury surveillance study was conducted at the EDs of three major tertiary-care hospitals of Rawalpindi city from July 2007 to June 2008 and included children of less than 15 years injured at school. The World Health Organization’s questionnaire for injury surveillance was used. There were …

Intubation In Emergency Department Of A Tertiary Care Hospital In A Low-Income, Nadeem Ullah Khan, Uzma R. Khan, Kiran Ejaz, Humaid Ahmad, Nukhba Zia, Junaid Abdul Razzak

Department of Emergency Medicine

Objective: To study the indications, method, success rate and complications of intubation at the Emergency Department of a private, tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.
Methods: The case series involved 278 patients above 14 years of age who underwent emergency intubation at the Emergency Department of Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi between 1998 and 2003. Descriptive statistics were used to compare rapid sequence intubation with crash intubation. The level of significance was p<0.05.
Results: Of the total 278 intubations performed, 37 (13.3%) had to be left out for incomplete information. The study population remaining for inferential analysis comprised of 241 …

Nitric Oxide And Its Metabolites In The Critical Phase Of Illness: Rapid Biomarkers In The Making, Asad Mian, Mayank Aranke, Nathan S. Bryan

Department of Emergency Medicine

The potential of nitric oxide (NO) as a rapid assay biomarker, one that could provide a quantum leap in acute care, remains largely untapped. NO plays a crucial role as bronchodilator, vasodilator and inflammatory mediator. The main objective of this review is to demonstrate how NO is a molecule of heavy interest in various acute disease states along the emergency department and critical care spectrum: respiratory infections, central nervous system infections, asthma, acute kidney injury, sepsis, septic shock, and myocardial ischemia, to name just a few. We discuss how NO and its oxidative metabolites, nitrite and nitrate, are readily detectable …

Uchunguzi (Journal Watch/Montre De Journal) March 2013, Benjamin Wachira

Family Medicine, East Africa

No abstract provided.

Missing The Boat: Odds For The Patients Who Leave Ed Without Being Seen, Jabeen Fayyaz, Munawar Khursheed, Mohammed Umer Mir, Amber Mehmood

Department of Emergency Medicine

BACKGROUND:

A patient left without being seen is a well-recognized indicator of Emergency Department overcrowding. The aim of this study was to define the characteristics of LWBS patients, their rates and associated factors from a tertiary care hospital of Pakistan.

METHODS:

A retrospective patient record review was undertaken. All patients presenting to the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, between April and December of the year 2010, were included in the study. Information was collected on age, sex, presenting complaints, ED capacity, month, time, shift, day of the week, and waiting times in the ED. A basic descriptive analysis was made …

Uchunguzi (Journal Watch/Montre De Journal) December 2013, Benjamin Wachira

Family Medicine, East Africa

No abstract provided.

Uchunguzi (Journal Watch/Montre De Journal) September 2013, Benjamin Wachira

Family Medicine, East Africa

No abstract provided.

Uchunguzi (Journal Watch/Montre De Journal) December 2012, Benjamin Wachira

Family Medicine, East Africa

Uchunguzi means investigation in Swahili and provides a summary of some of the most recent international literature as presented in other leading journals, but with an emphasis on what is relevant to our continent.

Pain Assessment And Management In Different Wards Of A Tertiary Care Hospital, Anwar Ul Huda, Mohammad Hamid, Saboor Ahmed, Syed Muhammad Baqir, Aysha Almas

Department of Emergency Medicine

OBJECTIVE:

To assess the pain management by medical team, emergency room (ER) team and Acute Pain team in a tertiary care hospital.

METHODS:

The cross-sectional study was done in Medical Ward, Surgical Ward and Emergency Room of Aga Khan University, Karachi, in March-April 2010. The assigned research medical officer visited the three locations every day and selected patients by way of convenient sampling. The study comprised 75 patients; 25 each in three groups. Information was collected on patient's demographics, general characteristics, type of drugs and modalities used. Specific queries about pain were sorted out like adequacy of pain assessment done …

Prolonged Intermediate Syndrome Pue To Prganophosphate Poisoning, Nadeem Ullah Khan, Muhammad Junaid Patel, M. N.M. Hifath, Saima Kamal, Syed Ather Hussain

Department of Emergency Medicine

Organophosphate poisoning can present as acute cholinergic syndrome, Intermediate syndrome and delayed neuropathy. Intermediate syndrome secondary to organophosphate poisoning is a serious health problem leading to increased morbidity and mortality. The incidence of problem varies and range from 8%-84% of organophosphate poisoning cases. The factors account for this difference is nature of organophosphate compound, severity of poisoning and inadequate Oxime therapy. The recognition of this syndrome is important as organophosphate poisoning is common in our country. We presented this case of organophosphate poisoning leading to prolonged intermediate syndrome. The muscle weakness associated with this syndrome generally resolves in 5-18 days …

Unintentional, Paediatric Domestic Injury In A Semi Rural Area Of Karachi., Emaduddin Siddiqui, Kiran Ejaz, Uzma Siddiqui

Department of Emergency Medicine

OBJECTIVE:

To identify the characteristics of unintentional domestic injury in children living in a semi-rural area of Karachi.

METHODS:

This retrospective descriptive study was carried out at a private hospital located at the northern outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan, from January 2005 to January 2007. We enrolled 271 out-patient children of either gender with a positive injury history. A questionnaire inquiring socio-demographic characteristics, timing of injury, monthly variation, injury pattern and factors was filled out. Descriptive analysis and Chi-square test were applied to find out the statistically significant differences.

RESULTS:

Among the 271 patients, the male-to-female ratio was 1.2:1. Fall from …

Overcrowded Emergency Departments: A Problem Looking For Solution., Amber Mehmood, Badar Afzal Khan, Munawar Khursheed

Department of Emergency Medicine

No abstract provided.

A Successful Model Of Road Traffic Injury Surveillance In A Developing Country: Process And Lessons Learnt, Junaid Abdul Razzak, Muhammad Shahzad Shamim, Amber Mehmood, Syed Ameer Hussain, Mir Shabbar Ali, Rashid Jooma

Department of Emergency Medicine

Background: Road Traffic Injuries (RTIs) are one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide with 90% of global mortality concentrated in the low and middle income countries. RTI surveillance is recommended to define the burden, identify high risk groups, plan intervention and monitor their impact. Despite its stated importance in the literature, very few examples of sustained surveillance systems are reported from low income countries. This paper shares the experience of setting up an urban RTI surveillance program in the emergency departments of five major hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan.
Method: We describe the process of establishing a surveillance …

Beta2-Adrenoceptor Agonists For Dysmenorrhoea, Zbys Fedorowicz, Mona Nasser, Vanitha A. Jagannath, Jessica H. Beaman, Kiran Ejaz, Esther J. Van Zuuren

Department of Emergency Medicine

Background:Dysmenorrhoea is a common gynaecological complaint that can affect as many as 50% of premenopausal women, 10% of whom suffer severely enough to be rendered incapacitated for one to three days during each menstrual cycle. Primary dysmenorrhoea is where women suffer from menstrual pain but lack any pathology in their pelvic anatomy. Beta2-adrenoceptor agonists have been used in the treatment of women with primary dysmenorrhoea but their effects are unclear.
Objectives:To determine the effectiveness and safety of beta2-adrenoceptor agonists in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea. Search methods: We searched the Cochrane Menstrual Disorders and Subfertility Group Specialised Register, …

Accuracy Of Diagnosis And Relationship With Quality Of Emergency Medicine Training Program, Muhammad Shahid, Kamran Hameed, Romaina Iqbal, Osama Afzal, Rooham Nakeer, Junaid Razzak

Department of Emergency Medicine

An indicator for emergency room performance is the ability to establish the correct diagnosis within the emergency room over the years. The authors chose to examine the non-congruence of Emergency Room diagnoses to that established after hospital stay for three selected years. A total of 8488 records were reviewed and all disparate diagnosis were recorded and categorized. Retrospective chart reviews were done from July 2008 to February 2009 at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. A substantial reduction in the percentage of disparate diagnoses was seen over the years from 41% in the initial year to 14% in the last …

Uchunguzi (Journal Watch/Montre De Journal) March 2012, Benjamin Wachira

Emergency Medicine, East Africa

Uchunguzi means investigation in Swahili and provides a summary of some of the most recent international literature as presented in other leading journals, but with an emphasis on what is relevant to our continent.