News • Deep learning analysis of X-rays
AI used to triage patients with chest pain
Artificial intelligence (AI) may help improve care for patients who show up at the hospital with acute chest pain, according to a new study published in Radiology.
Emergency medicine
News • Worrying trend reversal
After 40 years of decline, stroke death rates are on the rise again
For almost four decades, stroke cases and fatalities have been on the decline. In recent years, however, signs point to a resurgence, according to an analysis of US stroke deaths from 1975 to 2019.
Article • Emergency care crisis in the UK
Severe impact of ambulance handover delays
Rows of ambulances held in queues outside emergency departments waiting to admit patients to hospital is becoming an increasingly familiar scene in the UK. Senior figures across the health sector are becoming increasingly concerned at the levels of harm this bottleneck is causing patients. Patient care has hit a massive roadblock as delays in handovers between ambulances and emergency departments…
News • Alarming survey results
Child neglect or abuse: Hospital EDs report lack of policy and strategies
In a survey of emergency department staff from across Europe, only around half said their hospital has a policy in place to help staff identify children who are being neglected or abused.
Sponsored •
Preanalytical challenges and their clinical impact in point-of-care testing
The European Society for Emergency Medicine (EUSEM) held their annual congress on October 27th to 31st, 2021 in the city of Lisbon, to promote education, training and research in European acute care.
News • 'Meteorite impact in the brain'
Personalized treatment of acute stroke
When every minute counts: A Swiss team is currently developing a diagnostic procedure that can be used to start a tailored therapy for acute stroke in a timely manner.
Video • Telerobotic intervention
Joystick-operated robot could help remote surgical stroke treatment
Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a telerobotic system to help surgeons quickly and remotely treat patients experiencing a stroke or aneurysm.
News • AI-GUIDE system
Handheld robot can help stem fatal blood loss
The AI-Guided Ultrasound Intervention Device is a lifesaving technology that helps a range of users deliver complex medical interventions at the point of injury.
Article • Act fast, save lives
Mobile stroke units: when emergency medicine hits the road
Speed in treatment of ischemic stroke can mean the difference between successful recovery versus permanent disability caused by brain tissue damage or death. Time is of the essence to perform thrombolysis with a tissue plasminogen activate (tPA), a protein that can dissolve blood clots causing the stroke or intra-arterial thrombolytic therapy (IAT) because of large-vessel occlusion.
News • Cardiac arrest help takes flight
AED drone delivery shows great potential
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden can now report the results of a unique pilot project where drones were used to deliver defibrillators to real-life alerts of suspected cardiac arrest. The drones were dispatched in more than a fifth of the emergencies and arrived on target and ahead of the ambulance in most cases.
Video • Automated whole-body reperfusion
New technique to increase survival after cardiac arrest
Researchers at the Medical Faculty of the University of Freiburg have developed an improved therapeutic approach to resuscitate people after cardiac arrest - often without neurological complications. Around 50,000 people suffer sudden cardiac arrest in Germany every year. When occurring outside a hospital, the chances of survival are only ten percent. Survivors often suffer from severe permanent…
News • Robotic navigation
Helping robots find their way in crowded emergency rooms
Computer scientists at the University of California San Diego have developed a more accurate navigation system that will allow robots to better negotiate busy clinical environments in general and emergency departments more specifically. The researchers have also developed a dataset of open source videos to help train robotic navigation systems in the future. The team, led by Professor Laurel Riek…
Video • Airborne emergency support
Drone delivers defibrillator
Thanks to extended permissions obtained from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in Sweden, autonomous drone company Everdrone will soon provide 200,000 people in Sweden with access to emergency medical deliveries of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) by drone as Everdrone expands operations outside the Gothenburg region.
News • Nueva sigla para crear más conciencia acerca de los ataques cerebrales
¿Sospecha de accidente cerebrovascular? actua 'RÁPIDO'
Los investigadores acaban de establecer un nuevo acrónimo en español con el objetivo de crear un mayor nivel de conciencia en la comunidad hispana acerca de los síntomas de los ataques cerebrales. Conocido como RÁPIDO, la intención de este nuevo acrónimo es replicar el equivalente popular que existe en inglés de FAST. En los estudios se ha mostrado que hoy en día los adultos hispanos…
News • AI 'Haven' in intensive care
Machine learning to identify deteriorating hospital patients
Researchers in Oxford have developed a machine learning algorithm that could significantly improve clinicians’ ability to identify hospitalised patients whose condition is deteriorating to the extent that they need intensive care. The HAVEN system (Hospital-wide Alerting Via Electronic Noticeboard) was developed as part of a collaboration between the University of Oxford’s Institute of…
Article • Distinguishing arteriopathies
Deterring paediatric acute stroke
Acute stroke in children has the same incidence as brain tumours and can seriously affect a patient’s life. Two kinds of arteriopathies are common drivers of paediatric acute stroke and radiologists must learn to distinguish their signs as early as possible to improve prognosis, according to Béatrice Husson, a paediatric radiologist at Le Kremlin Bicêtre Hospital in Paris.
Sponsored • The most compact .55-T full body scanner
Lungs plus A&E MRI scans – no problem
Low, light and with a field strength: 0.55-tesla with added new digital technologies. Indeed, this is a very new class of MRI scanner created by Siemens Healthineers. We interviewed Christiane Bernhardt, Vice President of Magnetic Resonance Marketing & Sales, Business Line MR, at Siemens Healthineers, about the technologies behind this development, plus its advantages and applications.
Sponsored • Cardiac troponin I concentration measured at POC
Triage aided by a quick sensitive test
Large proportions of patients can be safely triaged either to rule out discharge or rule in lifesaving management – if following the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Guidelines Class I recommendation of two serial measurements of hs-cTnI on admission and after one hour, if there are assay specific cut off values for the 0/1 algorithms. The Pathfast hs-cTNI assay is an approved system to…
Sponsored • Challenges in acute care
POCT: Understanding sources of error
In an emergency, point-of-care-testing can provide results in minutes. However, sources of error must be understood to ensure result accuracy and confident diagnosis (particularly important during the current pandemic). Medical teams frequently use POCT devices to assess acutely ill patients; a hospital’s diagnostic laboratory is responsible for the analysers, plus training non-laboratory…
News • POCT for the head
New device detects traumatic brain injury 'on the spot'
A method for detecting traumatic brain injury at the point of care has been developed by scientists at the University of Birmingham. Using chemical biomarkers released by the brain immediately after a head injury occurs, researchers are able to pinpoint when patients need urgent medical attention. This saves time in delivering vital treatment and avoids patients undergoing unnecessary tests where…
Article • Blood poisoning
Exploring the importance and challenges of early sepsis diagnosis
On the occasion of this year's World Sepsis Day, we spoke with Elena Sukhacheva, Ph.D., director of medical and scientific affairs at Beckman Coulter, about the status quo and outlook on sepsis diagnostics. With the severity of sepsis symptoms, it’s easy to comprehend why it is invaluable to diagnose this disease properly and in a timely manner. Dr Sukhacheva takes an in-depth look at…
News • Personal protective equipment helps
Risk of Covid-19 infection among hospital staff lower than expected
Contrary to expectations, the risk of COVID-19 infection among hospital staff at the height of the coronavirus pandemic was lowest among intensive care clinicians, reveals a study of one major UK medical centre, published in the journal Thorax.
News • Emotional exhaustion
Nurses burned out and want to quit
A survey of nurses caring for children with heart problems has revealed that more than half are emotionally exhausted. The analysis, presented at ESC Congress 2020, also found that good working environments were linked with less burnout.
News • Reducing coronavirus test burden
AI speeds up COVID-19 screening in emergency rooms
Researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and the Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven have developed a new algorithm for the rapid screening for COVID-19. The software is intended for use in Emergency Rooms (ER), to quickly exclude the presence of corona in incoming patients. As a result, doctors need to conduct fewer standard coronavirus tests, increasing efficiency. The quick scan…
Video • Improving first aid
New 3D CT scanning method shows what happens during CPR
Rapid first aid during cardiac arrest makes the difference between life and death. But what happens to the heart and the internal organs when people come running and begin to give well-meaning but heavy-handed heart massage as they attempt to keep the person who has suffered a cardiac arrest alive? A research collaboration between the Department of Forensic Medicine at Aarhus University and the…