An Observational Study to Determine Whether Routinely Sending Patients Home With a 24-Hour Supply of Topical Tetracaine From the Emergency Department for Simple Corneal Abrasion Pain Is Potentially Safe.

Study Objective: To determine if the number of emergency department (ED) rechecks, persistent fluorescein uptake, ophthalmology referrals, or complications would be affected by the prescription of topical tetracaine for pain relief from simple corneal abrasions (SCAs).

Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted in an ED where policy change allowed physicians to use topical tetracaine hydrochloride 1% eye drops for 24 hours for pain treatment for patients with corneal abrasions. Outcomes were compared between patients who did or did not received tetracaine (adjusting for the propensity for treatment).

Dental attendance, perceptions of cost and self-care of school year 12 and 13 students: A focus on Southland, New Zealand.

Background And Objectives: Adolescents and emerging adults can provide dentists with many challenges. Little information is available on their perceptions of dental costs once they turn 18 and dentistry is no longer State-funded. The aim of this study was to explore the use of dental care by Southland students in years 12 and 13, their perceptions of the cost of four common dental procedures, self-related oral health and dental self-care habits, time off school related to dental problems, and knowledge and views regarding fluoride.

An exploratory study of parental knowledge of early childhood oral health care in Southland, New Zealand.

Objectives: The primary objective was to clearly assess the oral health care knowledge of Southland parents. The secondary objective was to identify whether inequalities exist between parents with different ethnicity, education or income.

Design: An exploratory study based on a simple online/ paper questionnaire.

Topical tetracaine used for 24 hours is safe and rated highly effective by patients for the treatment of pain caused by corneal abrasions: a double-blind, randomized clinical trial.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that topical tetracaine would be safe to use for 24 hours and would not affect corneal healing, that patients would experience more pain relief, and that patients would perceive tetracaine to be more effective than saline eye drops for the treatment of pain caused by corneal abrasions.

Methods: The study was a 12-month, prospective, double-blind, randomized trial of tetracaine versus saline set in the emergency department (ED) of a regional tertiary care teaching hospital. A total of 116 patients presenting with uncomplicated corneal abrasions were included in this study.

Duck shooting injuries in Southland, New Zealand.

Duck shooting is a common sport in New Zealand. The opening weekend is anticipated and celebrated, often with significant alcohol intake which is cause for concern, and potentially very dangerous. Hunters are annually warned about the dangers.

Eligibility for medical thromboprophylaxis based on risk-factor weights, and clinical thrombotic event rates.

Objectives: To measure eligibility for medical thromboprophylaxis using two Australasian guidelines - the Australia and New Zealand Working Party Guidelines [WPG] and the National Health and Medical Research Council Guidelines [NHMRCG]) - and proposed new guidelines based on risk-factor weights; and to measure the incidence of clinical venous thromboembolism (VTE) events in medical patients ("ensuing VTE").

Design, Setting And Patients: Prospective case-note audit in an acute medical ward of Southland Hospital, a regional hospital in Invercargill, New Zealand, among all 595 patients who were discharged consecutively from 21 November 2010 to 7 March 2011. Of these, 245 were excluded on clinical grounds or because they were under the care of the authors.