Background:Burnout is a syndrome explained as serious emotional depletion with poor adaptation at work due to prolonged occupational stress. It has three principal components namely emotional exhaustion(EE), depersonalization(DP) and diminished feelings of personal accomplishment(PA). Thus, we aimed at measuring the degree of burnout in doctors and nurses working in emergency medicine department (EMD) of 4 select tertiary care teaching hospitals in South India.Methods:A cross sectional survey was conducted among EMD professionals using a 30-item standardized pilot tested questionnaire as well as the Maslach burnout inventory. Univariate and Multivariate analyses were conducted using binary logistic regression models to identify predictors of burnout.Results:Total number of professionals interviewed were 105 of which 71.5% were women and 51.4% were doctors. Majority (78.1%) belonged to the age group 20-30 years. Prevalence of moderate to severe burnout in the 3 principal components EE, DP and PA were 64.8%, 71.4% and 73.3% respectively. After multivariate analysis, the risk factors [adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence intervals) for DP included facing more criticism [3.57(1.25,10.19)], disturbed sleep [6.44(1.45,28.49)] and being short tempered [3.14(1.09,9.09)]. While there were no statistically significant risk factors for EE, being affected by mortality [2.35(1.12,3.94)] and fear of medication errors [3.61(1.26, 10.37)] appeared to be significant predictors of PA.Conclusion:Degree of burn out among doctors and nurses is moderately high in all of the three principal components and some of the predictors identified were criticism, disturbed sleep, short tempered nature, fear of committing errors and witnessing death in EMD.

Background:Despite having a dedicated Plastic Surgery Unit, emergency physicians (EPs) manage many of the acute, traumatic hand injuries. Further very minimal information exists about the extent to which tetanus recommendations as per Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices are followed in emergency departments (EDs). Furthermore, the management of pain is often neglected.Objectives:To provide a clinical description of hand injuries with etiology and mechanism; and describe the trends of ED management, including analgesia and tetanus prophylaxis.Methodology:Records of eighty patients with hand injuries were reviewed. SPSS version 18 was used for statistical analysis. Wilcoxon signed rank test, and Pearson Chi-square test were used to compare left with right-hand injuries and validate associations, respectively.Results:The mean age of the patients was 27.41 years and median delay in presentation was 2 h. Occupational injury was the predominant mode of injury (74%) most patients (59 of the 86) received intravenous analgesia; while very few (6) received local anesthesia and (24) received no analgesia at all. A majority of patients (56) received tetanus toxoid prophylaxis, while only four patients (4.6%) also received tetanus immunoglobulin intramuscular. Most patients (71%) were admitted, while only a small number of patients (14%) were discharged from the ED.Conclusion:Proper training and sensitization towards the need and technique of anesthesia (particularly local anesthesia) would improve the quality of patient care. Printed guidelines and periodic review of the charts would help to overcome poor adherence to tetanus prophylaxis. Hand injuries could be managed better by the EP, with training through rotations to the Plastic Surgery Unit.

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Pesticide poisoning is always a clinical conundrum for the emergency physician (EP), the complexity of which increases when the pesticide has no antidote! Over the past decade, there has been a sharp increase in cases of Amitraz poisoning, a pesticide routinely used in veterinary medicine, available without a prescription. The usual presentation includes bradycardia, hypotension, poor sensorium, and miosis. In the absence of accurate history, these clinical features can be confused with the cholinergic toxidrome of organophosphorus poisoning. There is a dearth of literature regarding the presentation and protocols for the management of Amitraz poisoning with data mostly based on animal studies and pediatric case reports. Currently, the available medical literature in the form of case reports and case series form an invaluable source of information to the EP to formulate a working diagnosis and methodical approach to this pesticide. Here, we present two case reports highlighting the characteristic clinical features and bringing to light how an organized approach to the toxin can give satisfactory results.

Antiepileptics include various groups of drugs that have different mechanisms of actions and adverse effects. They are often also used to treat other disorders such as psychosis, chronic pain, and migraine. The most common drugs implicated in overdose include phenytoin, sodium valproate, carbamazepine, and phenobarbital. Common signs of toxicity of these drugs are central nervous system manifestations such as altered sensorium, lethargy, ataxia, and nystagmus. Some ingestions can paradoxically precipitate seizures and even status epilepticus. Sodium valproate can cause hyperammonemic encephalopathy and cerebral edema. Carbamazepine is implicated in cardiac arrhythmias and hyponatremia. Phenobarbital causes sedation, respiratory depression, and hypotension. In suspected overdose, apart from the routine laboratory tests, serum levels of the drug should be sent. Serial levels should be measured, as drug toxicity can be prolonged. Treatment of all these overdoses begins with stabilization of airway, breathing, and circulation, and endotracheal intubation being performed to protect the airway in patients with altered mental status. For decontamination, a single dose of activated charcoal should be given. Multidose of activated charcoal may be useful in phenytoin, carbamazepine, and phenobarbital overdose. Naloxone and carnitine are indicated in valproate overdose. Carbamazepine overdose can cause a widened QRS complex and arrhythmias, which can be treated with sodium bicarbonate. Forced alkaline diuresis is no longer advocated for phenobarbital poisoning. The Extracorporeal Treatments in Poisoning (EXTRIP) workgroup have formulated guidelines for extracorporeal removal of all these drugs. In most cases, hemodialysis is preferred. Other modalities include charcoal hemoperfusion (especially for carbamazepine) or continuous venovenous hemodialysis. Patients who ingest long-acting preparations should be monitored for longer periods.