Background: Hand injuries are very common and responsible for a significant number of emergency department (ED) visits, most of which are not to hand specialists [1]. The functionality and outcome of hand injuries can...Background: Hand injuries are very common and responsible for a significant number of emergency department (ED) visits, most of which are not to hand specialists [1]. The functionality and outcome of hand injuries can vary significantly depending on the mechanism and pattern of injuries, which is why it is imperative for emergency physicians to recognize the complexities, and the potential repercussion of missed injuries in such cases. Objective: The aim of this study is to provide epidemiological information on hand injuries and their patterns. The objective is 1) to assess whether most hand injuries are superficial (simple), or involve underlying deeper structures (complex) and 2) to assess whether most hand injuries presented to the emergency department were managed by the emergency physician or plastic/orthopaedic surgeon. Methods: This retrospective single-centre observational study conducted at an emergency department in a tertiary care hospital in Mumbai, India collected data from hand trauma patients using a standardized documentation form. Demographic data, trauma-related data, and disposition plans were analysed. Results: A total of 489 cases sustained hand injuries over a period of one year. The patients were predominantly males in the 20 - 30 year age group and injuries were mainly sustained over the right hand. Most of the injuries were sustained at home (42%). The most common mechanism (34%) was sharp object injury (including needle-stick and other sharps in hospital), followed by blunt injury (30%). Among grievous hand injuries, door jamb was a mechanism noted in 11% of patients, accounting for 50% of all crush injuries. Lacerations were the most common pattern (24.7%) noticed, followed closely by fractures (23.3%). Digits II - IV were injured most commonly (54%), followed by carpals (14%) and the thumb (10%). Nearly 80% of the hand injuries were managed by emergency physicians alone, with 61% of cases involving superficial structures. Though 14% of the cases required plastic surgery intervention, 展开更多
Aim: This study aims to review the qualitative research studying Emergency Medicine (EM) physicians in Emergency Departments (ED). Background: Qualitative research aims to study complex social phenomena by other means...Aim: This study aims to review the qualitative research studying Emergency Medicine (EM) physicians in Emergency Departments (ED). Background: Qualitative research aims to study complex social phenomena by other means than quantification often through verbal or observational investigation. EM is a highly complex medical and social environment that has been investigated through qualitative methodologies. A literature review is needed to show what qualitative studies illuminate about EM and why this work is important to develop EM as a complex organizational and communicative practice. Methods: Electronic databases of English peer-reviewed articles were searched from 1971 to 2012 using Medline through PubMed and PsychINFO. This search was supplemented with hand-searches of Academic Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medicine Journal from 1999 to 2012 and cross references were reviewed. The key words used were emergency medicine, qualitative, ethnography, observation, interview, video, anthropology, simulation, and simulation-based. Results: 820 papers were identified and 46 studies were included in this review. This literature review found that the reviewed qualitative studies on EM physicians were designed using the following strategies of inquiry: Ethnography, mixed methods, action research, grounded theory, phenomenology, content analysis, discourse analysis, and critical incident analysis. The reviewed studies were categorized into four main themes: Education and training, communication, professional roles, and organizational factors, and into 12 sub-themes. Conclusion: The strength of qualitative research is its ability to grasp and operationalize complex relations within EM. Although qualitative research methodologies have gained in rigor in recent years and few researchers would question their value in studying complex medical and social phenomena, rigorous design in qualitative studies is needed. Qualitative research studies that stick with one strategy of inquiry that they follow closely are likely to yield 展开更多
文摘Background: Hand injuries are very common and responsible for a significant number of emergency department (ED) visits, most of which are not to hand specialists [1]. The functionality and outcome of hand injuries can vary significantly depending on the mechanism and pattern of injuries, which is why it is imperative for emergency physicians to recognize the complexities, and the potential repercussion of missed injuries in such cases. Objective: The aim of this study is to provide epidemiological information on hand injuries and their patterns. The objective is 1) to assess whether most hand injuries are superficial (simple), or involve underlying deeper structures (complex) and 2) to assess whether most hand injuries presented to the emergency department were managed by the emergency physician or plastic/orthopaedic surgeon. Methods: This retrospective single-centre observational study conducted at an emergency department in a tertiary care hospital in Mumbai, India collected data from hand trauma patients using a standardized documentation form. Demographic data, trauma-related data, and disposition plans were analysed. Results: A total of 489 cases sustained hand injuries over a period of one year. The patients were predominantly males in the 20 - 30 year age group and injuries were mainly sustained over the right hand. Most of the injuries were sustained at home (42%). The most common mechanism (34%) was sharp object injury (including needle-stick and other sharps in hospital), followed by blunt injury (30%). Among grievous hand injuries, door jamb was a mechanism noted in 11% of patients, accounting for 50% of all crush injuries. Lacerations were the most common pattern (24.7%) noticed, followed closely by fractures (23.3%). Digits II - IV were injured most commonly (54%), followed by carpals (14%) and the thumb (10%). Nearly 80% of the hand injuries were managed by emergency physicians alone, with 61% of cases involving superficial structures. Though 14% of the cases required plastic surgery intervention,
文摘Aim: This study aims to review the qualitative research studying Emergency Medicine (EM) physicians in Emergency Departments (ED). Background: Qualitative research aims to study complex social phenomena by other means than quantification often through verbal or observational investigation. EM is a highly complex medical and social environment that has been investigated through qualitative methodologies. A literature review is needed to show what qualitative studies illuminate about EM and why this work is important to develop EM as a complex organizational and communicative practice. Methods: Electronic databases of English peer-reviewed articles were searched from 1971 to 2012 using Medline through PubMed and PsychINFO. This search was supplemented with hand-searches of Academic Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medicine Journal from 1999 to 2012 and cross references were reviewed. The key words used were emergency medicine, qualitative, ethnography, observation, interview, video, anthropology, simulation, and simulation-based. Results: 820 papers were identified and 46 studies were included in this review. This literature review found that the reviewed qualitative studies on EM physicians were designed using the following strategies of inquiry: Ethnography, mixed methods, action research, grounded theory, phenomenology, content analysis, discourse analysis, and critical incident analysis. The reviewed studies were categorized into four main themes: Education and training, communication, professional roles, and organizational factors, and into 12 sub-themes. Conclusion: The strength of qualitative research is its ability to grasp and operationalize complex relations within EM. Although qualitative research methodologies have gained in rigor in recent years and few researchers would question their value in studying complex medical and social phenomena, rigorous design in qualitative studies is needed. Qualitative research studies that stick with one strategy of inquiry that they follow closely are likely to yield
