Publications by authors named "Laura Hamill"

Objective: To evaluate gender authorship trends in the official journal of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM), Emergency Medicine Australasia (EMA).

Methods: A bibliometric review of author gender in EMA during the 10-year period 2013-2022. The gender of first/last authors were determined by www.

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Aims: Point-of-care (POC) high-sensitivity troponin (hs-cTn) assays within a clinical pathway may safely reduce length of stay (LoS) for patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with possible acute myocardial infarction (AMI). In this early report, we present the first evaluation of a POC hs-cTn in real-life care.

Methods And Results: In adult patients presenting to ED investigated for possible AMI, we compared the LoS in patients assessed with a troponin in the 8 weeks before (usual-care phase) and the 8 weeks following introduction of the Siemens Atellica VTLi POC hs-cTnI for decision-making (intervention phase).

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Objectives: Existing guideline recommendations suggest considering corticosteroids for adjunct treatment of cellulitis, but this is based on a single trial with low certainty of evidence. The objective was to determine if anti-inflammatory medication (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [NSAIDs], corticosteroids) as adjunct cellulitis treatment improves clinical response and cure.

Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis including randomized controlled trials of patients with cellulitis treated with antibiotics irrespective of age, gender, severity and setting, and an intervention of anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs or corticosteroids) vs.

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Antibiotic overprescribing is a global issue that significantly contributes to increased antimicrobial resistance. Strengthening antimicrobial prescribing practices should be considered a priority. The emergency department (ED) represents a setting where antibiotics are frequently prescribed, but the determinants that influence prescribing choices are complex and multifaceted.

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Background: Cellulitis is a clinical diagnosis with several mimics and no gold standard diagnostic criteria. Misdiagnosis is common. This review aims to quantify the proportion of cellulitis misdiagnosis in primary or unscheduled care settings based on a second clinical assessment and describe the proportion and types of alternative diagnoses.

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Background: CT performed within 6 hours of headache onset is highly sensitive for the detection of subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). Beyond this time frame, if the CT is negative for blood, a lumbar puncture is often performed. Technology improvements in image noise reduction, resolution and motion artefact have enhanced the performance of multislice CT (MSCT) and may have further improved sensitivity.

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Inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing in the emergency department (ED) can lead to poor outcomes. It is unknown how often the prescribing clinician is guided by others, and whether prescriber factors affect appropriateness of prescribing. This study aims to describe decision making, confidence in, and appropriateness of antimicrobial prescribing in the ED.

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Skin and soft-tissue infections are a common presentation to EDs in Australasia. In the absence of sepsis or decreased oral absorption, substantial supportive data exists that shows oral antibiotics are non-inferior to intravenous antibiotics for uncomplicated skin and soft-tissue infections. However, despite a fair evidence base, clinicians are not consistently putting this into practice.

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Background: Exhaled breath temperature (EBT) reflects airways (both eosinophilic and neutrophilic) inflammation in asthma and thus may aid the management of children with asthma that are treated with anti-inflammatory drugs. A new EBT monitor has become available that is cheap and easy to use and may be a suitable monitoring device for airways inflammation. Little is known about how EBT relates to asthma treatment decisions, disease control, lung function, or other non-invasive measures of airways inflammation, such as exhaled nitric oxide (ENO).

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