Implicit racial bias may result in stereotyping of racial minorities and premature diagnostic closure. Furthermore, it may contribute to distrust of medical professionals resulting in higher rates of leave events and hinder racial minorities from seeking care or following treatment recommendations. The aim of this review is to analyse the effect of implicit bias on patient outcomes in the ED in international literature and explore how these studies correlate to an Australian context.

This study identifies core components of a work-based strategy as informed by ED clinicians to improve their working environment and/or coping.

A retrospective case series of aeromedical retrievals undertaken between 2010 and 2014 in the state of Queensland was undertaken. Key insights include the large proportion of retrievals for older adults, cardiology and injury-related taskings. Aeromedical services play a vital role in enabling all sick and injured residents' have access to the level of care required irrespective of their location, or remoteness, of residence.

The New Zealand National Poisons Centre provides 24/7 freely accessible expert clinical assessment and management advice for poisonings through telephone consultations and its extensive online poisoning information database. Most calls in 2018 were from the general public and involved paediatric exposures which could be managed at home. Most telephone consultations with New Zealand National Poisons Centre clinical toxicologists and queries of the online database involved exposures to medications, particularly paracetamol.

RSI is used to secure the airway of some patients with stroke. Recent observational studies suggest that RSI is associated with poorer survival, and that decreases in systolic BP following RSI could be a cause of worse survival. The present study was a retrospective analysis of all stroke patients that received paramedic RSI attended by Ambulance Victoria, Australia. Paramedic RSI-related decrease in systolic BP is associated with improved survival in those with intra-cerebral or subarachnoid haemorrhage but not ischaemic stroke.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the incidence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) at exercise and sport facilities in Australia and the impact of effective bystander-initiated CPR and automated external defibrillator use on return of spontaneous circulation to hospital admission. There were 250 OHCA events at exercise and sport facilities, with an incidence rate of 5.1 per 100 000 participants per year at outdoor sports facilities. The findings show that effective bystander-initiated CPR and automated external defibrillator use can help OHCA patients achieve return of spontaneous circulation to hospital admission.

The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine if a combination of analgesics conveys any significant clinical benefit over paracetamol alone in managing acute musculoskeletal injuries. Six studies were identified (n = 1254) and overall there was no clinically important difference between groups for reduction in pain score in the first 2 h, 24 h or 72 h. In conclusion, paracetamol monotherapy is a reasonable first-line analgesic for acute musculoskeletal injuries as combining additional oral agents does not result in any significant additional analgesic effect.

A substantial proportion of patients presenting to Australian EDs in July 2020 underwent SARS-CoV-2 testing and required enhanced infection prevention and control precautions. Only a small proportion returned a positive result. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 on nasopharyngeal testing was not associated with mechanical ventilation or death in hospital.

The present study explored trends in presentation and key performance indicators with respect to children seeking mental health services at The Prince Charles Hospital Children's Emergency Department, Brisbane. Mental health presentations almost doubled over the 5 years (185 attendances in 2013; 342 in 2017), however, as a proportion of overall presentations, there was no significant increase. The percentage of mental health presentations meeting National Emergency Access Target criteria dropped from 63% in 2013 to 39% in 2017 (P < 0.0001). Those requiring a mental health inpatient stay were more likely to have very extended length of stay within the Children's Emergency Department.

A trauma patient with cardiac tamponade may not survive transfer to the operating theatre for pericardial decompression. This article describes an approach to a resuscitative thoracotomy in the ED, which may be life-saving in these patients when a cardiothoracic surgeon is not immediately available.