Objective:Social media allows user-generated content and dialog between users and has also entered into the domain of healthcare. The purpose of this study was to compare the use of Twitter at the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting (ACEM ASM) from 2011 to 2014 and analyze its ability to spread emergency medicine education.Materials and Methods:Retrospectively, TweetReach was utilized to analyze relevant tweets. Each Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) had an associated Twitter account/s from, which data were collected. Duplicate tweets were excluded from the analysis. Information on the number of total tweets (regular tweets, retweets, and replies) and contributors was gathered. The potential audience, the reach, was calculated.Results:From 2011 to 2014 the number of tweets rose from 460 to 4694, a 920% increase. Only 54 Twitter users contributed to the 2011 ASM. This rose to 252 (2012), 291 (2013) and 572 (2014). The average number of tweets per contributor ranged from 8.2 to 10.9. The reach, the potential number of Twitter users exposed to posts, rose >30 times from 2011 (15,502 users) to 2014 (471,166).Conclusion:The use of Twitter at the ACEM ASM rose significantly from 2011 to 2014. It is a highly useful tool for the dissemination of emergency medicine education. Twitter has been harnessed by the ASM to enhance the conference experience by further generating interaction between delegates as well as those worldwide.

Background: A key metric of the research quality of medical conferences is the publication rate of abstracts. The study objective was to determine the publication rate of abstracts presented at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Annual Scientific Congress (RACS ASC) and to examine for any predictive factors associated with publication. Methods: Abstracts presented at the RACS ASC from 2011 to 2013 were analysed. Abstract characteristics such as presentation format, study type, study design, study site, cohort size and author origin were recorded. Abstracts published were identified by a PubMed search using a strict algorithm. Univariate and multivariable logistic regressions were used to analyse for predictive factors of publication. Results: Overall, 1438 abstracts were presented and 423 abstracts (29%) were published. The median time to publication was 15.2 months (interquartile range: 8-26) with 110 in Australasian journals (26%). The median number of citations for published abstracts was 6 (interquartile range: 2-16). After multivariable analysis, publication was significantly associated with prospective study design (odds ratio (OR) = 1.34, P = 0.02), multicentre study site (OR = 1.43, P = 0.02), cohort size ≥100 (OR = 2.00, P < 0.001) and New Zealand author origin (OR = 1.50, P = 0.01). Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that less than one-third of abstracts presented at the RACS ASC are subsequently published in a peer-reviewed journal. Factors significantly associated with journal publication include prospective studies, multicentre study, a larger cohort size and New Zealand author origin. Advances in surgery may progress from the preliminary findings of conference abstracts. However only after the rigorous peer review offered by journal publication should changes in decision-making of patient care occur.

Purpose: The present study aimed to determine the safety and efficacy of a drug-coated balloon inflated within a thin-strut self-expanding bare-metal stent in patients with severe and complex femoropopliteal occlusive disease. Methods: This prospective study used the Pulsar-self-expanding stent and Passeo-18 Lux drug-coated balloon in patients with severe and complex femoropopliteal occlusive disease. The primary endpoint was the 12-month primary patency, and the secondary endpoints included 24-month primary patency, assisted primary patency, secondary patency, and clinically associated target lesion revascularisation. Results: The study included 44 patients (51 limbs). The mean age of the patients was 67.6 AE 10.2 years, with 73% men. Chronic limb severity was classified as Rutherford Category III in 41% of the patients, stage IV in 31%, and stage V in 27%. Lesions were predominantly Trans-Atlantic Inter-Society Consensus (TASC 2007) D (51%) and C (45%), with 32 (63%) chronic total occlusions. Procedural success was obtained in all cases. The mean lesion length was 200 AE 74.55 mm (95% CI ¼ 167.09-208.01) with a mean number of stents per limb used of 1.57 AE 0.70 (95% CI ¼ 1.37-1.76). Distal embolisation occurred in two patients. The primary patency rates at the 12-and 24-month follow-up were 94% (95% CI ¼ 82.9-98.1) and 88% (95% CI ¼ 75.7-94.5), respectively. The assisted primary was 94% (95% CI ¼ 82.9-98.1) and secondary patency was 96% (95% CI ¼ 85.2-99.0) at 24-month follow-up. The cumulative stent fracture rate at the 24-month follow-up was 10%. Freedom from clinically driven target lesion revascularisation was 94% (95% CI ¼ 83-98%) at 12-month follow-up and 88% (95% CI ¼ 76-94%) at 24-month follow-up, with two patients requiring a bypass graft. Conclusion: Our novel approach involving the combination of a thin-strut bare-metal stent and a drug-coated balloon may be safe and effective, with sustainable and promising clinical outcomes up to 24 months after treatment.

Anaemia in Indigenous Australian school-aged children is a major public health issue. The prevalence of anaemia in this population is 52% and many times higher than that of the general Australian population. As per current guidelines, the recommended treatment is effective in over 80% at the 4-week interval. Community wide interventions are required to combat this alarming issue.