Adapted approaches to initial fluid management of patients with major burns in resource-limited settings: A systematic review.

Background: Resource limitations in settings such as burn mass casualty incidents (MCIs) present challenges to the judicious fluid resuscitation required for major burns. Previous recommendations for burns care in MCIs have suggested certain adaptations from routine care, such as delaying intravenous (IV) fluid resuscitation until arrival at facility; using a fluid calculation formula that is independent of percentage of total body surface area (%TBSA) burned; or using fluid calculation formula based on time of arrival to first receiving facility rather than from time of injury, thus omitting 'catch-up' fluid.

Objectives: To synthesize and assess certainty of evidence from resource-limited settings on the three adaptations to fluid resuscitation for patients with major burns in MCIs.

Oral/enteral fluid resuscitation in the initial management of major burns: A systematic review and meta-analysis of human and animal studies.

Background: Timely and safe intravenous (IV) fluid resuscitation for major burns may be difficult or impossible during mass casualty burn incidents. Oral/enteral fluid resuscitation may be an alternative.

Objectives: To synthesize and assess certainty of evidence on oral/enteral fluid resuscitation as compared to IV or no fluid resuscitation for major burns.

A Novel Web-Based Application for Influenza and COVID-19 Outbreak Detection and Response in Residential Aged Care Facilities.

The use of innovative digital health technologies in public health is expanding quickly, including the use of these tools in outbreak response. The translation of a digital health innovation into effective public health practice is a complex process requiring diverse enablers across the people, process, and technology domains. This paper describes a novel web-based application that was designed and implemented by a district-level public health authority to assist residential aged care facilities in influenza and COVID-19 outbreak detection and response.

Planning for the next pandemic: Reflections on lessons from the uncontained transmission phases of the COVID-19 pandemic and their impacts on emergency departments in Australia.

Australia was a world leader in managing the earlier waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, three major turning points changed the trajectory of the pandemic: mass vaccinations, emergence of more transmissible variants and re-opening of Australia's borders. However, there were also concomitant missteps and premature shifts in pandemic response policy that led to mixed messaging, slow initial vaccination uptake and minimal mitigation measures in response to the Omicron variant.

Protecting Older Adult Residents in Care Facilities Against Influenza and COVID-19 Using the Influenza Communication, Advice and Reporting (FluCARE) App: Prospective Cohort Mixed Methods Study.

Background: Early detection and response to influenza and COVID-19 outbreaks in aged care facilities (ACFs) are critical to minimizing health impacts. The Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) Public Health Unit (PHU) has developed and implemented a novel web-based app with integrated functions for online line listings, detection algorithms, and automatic notifications to responders, to assist ACFs in outbreak response. The goal of the Influenza Outbreak Communication, Advice and Reporting (FluCARE) app is to reduce time delays to notifications, which we hope will reduce the spread, duration, and health impacts of an influenza or COVID-19 outbreak, as well as ease workload burdens on ACF staff.

Planning for the next pandemic: Reflections on the early phase of the Australian COVID-19 public health response from the emergency department.

EDs play a crucial role as frontline health services throughout public health emergencies, including pandemics. The strength of the Australian public health response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has mitigated the impact of the pandemic on clinical services, but there has still been a substantial impact on EDs and the health system. We revisit major events and lessons from the first wave of COVID-19 in Australia to consider the implications and avenues for system-level improvements for future pandemic and public health emergency response for EDs.

Web-Based Apps for Responding to Acute Infectious Disease Outbreaks in the Community: Systematic Review.

Background: Web-based technology has dramatically improved our ability to detect communicable disease outbreaks, with the potential to reduce morbidity and mortality because of swift public health action. Apps accessible through the internet and on mobile devices create an opportunity to enhance our traditional indicator-based surveillance systems, which have high specificity but issues with timeliness.

Objective: The aim of this study is to describe the literature on web-based apps for indicator-based surveillance and response to acute communicable disease outbreaks in the community with regard to their design, implementation, and evaluation.

An example of public health training in emergency medicine.

There is growing recognition of the vital roles that Emergency Physicians can play in public health. Accordingly, there is a need for emergency medicine trainees to have opportunities to acquire relevant public health skillsets. This article provides an example of such a possibility.

Use of computed tomography in the setting of a tiered trauma team activation system in Australia.

This study aims to describe the patterns in the use of computed tomography (CT) imaging in the setting of a two-tiered trauma team activation system without a mandatory whole-body ("panscan") trauma CT protocol. A prospective study was conducted at a single inner city major trauma centre in Sydney, Australia. Adult patients presenting to the emergency department requiring a trauma team activation were studied over 1 year.

Whole-body computed tomography in the initial assessment of trauma patients: is there optimal criteria for patient selection?

Objective: To describe the use of whole-body computed tomography (WBCT) at this Major Trauma Centre; to determine independent predictors of multi-region injury; and to evaluate the accuracy of the decision to perform WBCT in detecting multi-region injury.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was performed at a single Major Trauma Centre in New South Wales, Australia. All adult patients who triggered trauma team activation and required an initial CT scan were studied.

Paediatric driveway run-over injuries: time to redesign?

Aims: To investigate the demographic, accident, and environmental characteristics associated with driveway run-over injuries in order to identify potentially modifiable factors and prevention strategies

Methods: Retrospective review of all children less than 15 years old who were hospitalised or killed due to a driveway run-over injury in the Auckland region of New Zealand over the 50-month period, November 2001 to December 2005. Data was collected on the demographics, accident and environmental characteristics, and parental awareness. Data was obtained from clinical records and telephone interviews with parents.

The effect of treatment of obstructive sleep apnea on quality of life in children with cerebral palsy.

Benefits of treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children with cerebral palsy could differ from those in otherwise healthy children. We examined the effects of OSA treatment by comparing a group of children with cerebral palsy treated with adenotonsillectomy or continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) by nasal mask with controls who had not received treatment. Parents completed a structured questionnaire assessing change in their child's quality of life (QOL) and OSA symptoms after treatment, or between 6 months ago and the present time for controls.