Definition and developmental goals for Nordic emergency medicine.

Although Emergency Medicine is now globally an established specialty, the Nordic countries have been relatively slow to implement it into their health care systems. To facilitate the development of EM in the Nordic area, a working group was formed with representation from all national EM societies; DASEM (Danish Society for Emergency Medicine), FiSEM (Finnish Society of Emergency Medicine), ISEM (Icelandic Society for Emergency Medicine), NCEM (Norwegian College of Emergency Medicine), and SWESEM (Swedish Society for Emergency Medicine). This group was tasked with creating a Nordic EM manifesto-to create a definition and developmental goals for Nordic Emergency Medicine.

Current postgraduate training in emergency medicine in the Nordic countries.

Background: Emergency Medicine (EM) is an independent specialty in all five Nordic countries. This study aims to evaluate the structure of post-graduate EM training in the area.

Methods: A leading hospital or hospitals in EM training in each country were identified.

[Training of Icelandic rural doctors in managing trauma and acute illness].

Introduction: Rural medicine is in many ways different from urban primary care. In addition to providing primary care for a population, the rural doctor is tasked with the initial evaluation and stabilization of all emergencies usually managed by an Emergency Department in urban areas. The goal of this study was to assess rural doctors' in Iceland attendance of courses in Emergency Medicine (EM), how rural doctors grade their own ability to respond to emergencies and evaluate their Continuous Medical Education (CME) within the field of EM.

[Emergency Department visits due to firework accidents in the Reykjavik capital area from 2010 to 2022].

Background: Public use of fireworks is widespread in Iceland, and unfortunately associated with injuries. No prior comprehensive research has been done on firework accidents in Iceland. The goal of this study was to gather information about the extent, cause, and impact of firework accidents in the Reykjavik capital area.

[Evaluation and management of wilderness injuries and acute illness in Iceland during the years 2017-2018].

Introduction: In Iceland, wilderness search and rescue services are provided by volunteer members of the Icelandic association for search and rescue (ICE-SAR). The rescue teams respond to about 1200 calls every year, with a significant proportion of them involving injured and sick individuals. No previous studies have been done on the service provided by ICE-SAR teams.

[Utility of serum tryptase in Emergency Department patients with possible anaphylaxis].

Background Diagnosing anaphylaxis is often straightforward but can be challenging if the presentation is atypical. In patients with atypical symptoms suspected to be due to an acute allergic reaction, s-tryptase can give additional diagnostic information. Measuring s-tryptase is also helpful in diagnosing mastocytosis.

[Emergency department visits in Reykjavik for electric scooter related injuries during the summer of 2020].

Electric scooters have become popular in Iceland. The aim of the current study was to gather data on the incidence, causes, and severity of injuries due to the use of electric scooters in the Reykjavik area during the summer of 2020.   MATERIAL AND METHODS: Individuals presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) at Landspitali between June 1 and August 31 were asked about the location and cause of accident, use of protective equipment, and use of recreational drugs and alcohol.

Effect of replacing ambulance physicians with paramedics on outcome of resuscitation for prehospital cardiac arrest.

Introduction: Limited evidence suggests that the presence of a prehospital physician improves survival from cardiac arrest. A retrospective study is undertaken to examine this question. In Reykjavik, Iceland, prehospital physicians on ambulances were replaced by emergency medical technicians (EMTs) in 2007.

Emergency medicine for 25 Years in Iceland - history of the specialty in a nutshell.

After the early implementation of Emergency Medicine (EM) 25 years ago, Iceland became the first Nordic country to nationally realize the benefits of this specialty. However, the road has been rocky as in many other countries. The early years of EM in Iceland were characterized by a significant shortage of resources, particularly a lack of medical staff dedicated to EM and properly trained for the services required.

[Reduction of shoulder dislocation with the Cunningham method].

Introduction: The Cunningham technique has been shown to be an effective and simple method to reduce a dislocated shoulder. It is based on the theory that the humeral head remains outside the glenoid fossa due to tension in the long biceps tendon. In the beginning of 2013 doctors at the emergency department in Landspitali University Hospital (LUH) in Reykjavik were instructed in the Cunningham method for reduction of anterior dislocation without sedation.

[Incidence of Bicycle injuries presenting to the Emergency Department in Reykjavik 2005-2010].

Introduction: Bicycling has become increasingly popular in Iceland. Official registration of bicycle accidents is based on police reports. As minor accidents are often not reported to the police, these accidents may be underreported in police records.

[Results of pre-hospital cardiac resuscitation in the Reykjavik area 2004-2007].

Introduction: In the Reykjavik area, a physician staffed ambulance -responded to cardiac arrests from 1982-2007. The aim of this study was to assess the outcome of attempted pre-hospital cardiac resuscitations in the period from 2004-2007 and compare to previous studies.

Material And Methods: All cases of attempted prehospital resuscitations in cardiac arrests of presumed cardiac etiology.

[Emergency ultrasound for trauma].

The use of ultrasound is now widespread within the field of Emergency Medicine. The availability of lightweight and relatively cheap ultrasound devices has enabled clinicians to obtain more detailed information about the condition of acutely ill and injured patients than can be done with a clinical exam only. This paper discusses the standardized E-FAST exam for trauma; the technical details of the exam and the reliability of the information gained by each of it's components.

Physician experience in addition to ACLS training does not significantly affect the outcome of prehospital cardiac arrest.

Background: Little data exists on whether the physicians' skills in responding to cardiac arrest are fully developed after the advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) course, or if there is a significant improvement in their performance after an initial learning curve.

Objective: To estimate the effect of physician experience on the results of prehospital cardiac arrests.

Materials And Methods: Prospective data were collected on all prehospital resuscitative attempts in the area by ACLS-trained ambulance physicians.

[Allergy and skin infection after use of temporary henna tattoo--case report].

We describe a case of a 10 year old boy who developed an contact dermatitis to black henna tattoo. Sixteen days later he was brought to the emergency department because of an presumed superinfection by S. aureus.

Converted charter plane for mass transport of patients after a tsunami.

After a tsunami in the Indian Ocean in December 2004, thousands of injured tourists were stranded far away from home. To transport injured Scandinavians and their relatives back to Sweden, a standard Icelandic charter plane was altered for the mission in 2 days. Orthopedic injuries and aspirations were the predominant injuries among patients transported, but all had received advanced care in Thailand.

[The new international guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care].

Recently the American Heart Association and the European Resuscitation Council published new guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care. These new guidelines are the result of extensive review of the scientific literature in this field by The International Liason Committee on Resuscitation. There are some important changes in the new guidelines with a major emphasis on the importance of basic life support, especially chest compressions.

International EMS Systems: the Nordic countries.

Emergency medicine service (EMS) systems in the five Nordic countries have more similarities than differences. One similarity is the involvement of anaesthesiologists as pre-hospital physicians and their strong participation for all critically ill and injured patients in-hospital. Discrepancies do exist, however, especially within the ground and air ambulance service, and the EMS systems face several challenges.