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ASCIA Acute Management of Anaphylaxis (2026): Adrenaline dosesAn adult with acute asthma can only say a few words per breath, is using accessory muscles and has SpO2 93% on room air. Severity and first step?
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Australian Asthma Handbook v3.0: Managing acute asthma in adults and adolescentsNo one has died from a funnel-web bite since 1981
Thirteen deaths have been recorded from Australian funnel-web spiders, most of them blamed on the male Sydney funnel-web. Then an antivenom arrived in 1981, and there have been no recorded deaths since. The venom used to make it is milked from live spiders. In 2025 researchers split the Sydney funnel-web into three separate species.
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Australian Museum: Australian Funnel-web Spiders@scrollmed_asciaEmergency
After adrenaline: watch for 4 hours
Observe for at least 4 hours after the last adrenaline dose — reactions can relapse or come back. Biphasic reactions follow 3–20% of episodes, within 48 hours. Keep patients overnight if the reaction was severe or refractory, or if they live alone, are remote from care or presented late in the evening.
ASCIA Acute Management of Anaphylaxis (2026): Actions after adrenaline@scrollmed_auEmergency
Heart Foundation: What is a heart attack?An older person develops confusion over hours, with symptoms varying during the day. Which diagnosis best fits?
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healthdirect: Delirium@scrollmed_auEmergency
ANZCOR Guideline 12.1: Paediatric BLS for health professionals@scrollmed_auEmergency
ACSQHC: Sepsis Clinical Care StandardTrauma's neglected-disease report
A landmark 1966 US report framed accidental death and disability as a neglected disease of modern society. Its criticism of emergency care helped focus national attention on trauma systems.
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Shah MN. Am J Public Health 2006;96:414–423@scrollmed_auEmergency
RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Paracetamol poisoningFlying ambulances stayed on the ground
Larrey's Napoleonic-era "flying ambulances" were horse-drawn wagons, not aircraft. Fast-moving artillery inspired a system designed to reach wounded soldiers and transport them rapidly.
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Turner MD, Shah MH. Cureus 2024;16:e62375An adult is in PEA arrest. When should adrenaline first be administered?
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ANZCOR Guideline 11.2: Adult ALSUndertakers once ran ambulances
By 1960, some US ambulance services were operated by undertakers. Emergency transport was a patchwork also involving hospitals, fire departments and volunteers, with widely varying staff training.
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Shah MN. Am J Public Health 2006;96:414–423@scrollmed_auEmergency
ANZCOR Guideline 6: CompressionsWhat first aid cooling is recommended for a thermal burn?
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RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Burns – acute managementIn the trauma primary survey written as cABCDE, what does the small 'c' at the start stand for?
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RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Trauma – primary surveyWhich paracetamol exposure should NOT be assessed using the treatment nomogram?
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RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Paracetamol poisoningAmbulance standards were once scarce
In 1960, only four US states regulated ambulance design specifications, according to a historical review. Only six had standard training courses for rescuers.
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Shah MN. Am J Public Health 2006;96:414–423@scrollmed_auEmergency
ANZCOR Guideline 3: The unconscious personTriage challenged military rank
Battlefield surgeon Dominique-Jean Larrey prioritised wounded soldiers by injury severity rather than military rank. He also treated enemy casualties—a striking early expression of needs-based emergency care.
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Turner MD, Shah MH. Cureus 2024;16:e62375What chest compression rate does ANZCOR recommend across all ages?
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ANZCOR Guideline 6: CompressionsAfter heat exposure, a person becomes confused and collapses. What is the best response?
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healthdirect: HeatstrokeWhich combination defines the biochemical pattern of paediatric DKA?
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RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Diabetic ketoacidosisWhat compression depth should rescuers aim for in a child?
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ANZCOR Guideline 6: CompressionsBlood cultures are difficult to obtain in suspected sepsis. What should happen to antibiotic treatment?
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NSW ACI Adult ECAT: Sepsis (suspected)An older adult has new confusion and reduced intake but no fever. Which interpretation is safest?
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NSW ACI Adult ECAT: Sepsis (suspected)Mouth-to-mouth needed proving
Mouth-to-mouth ventilation was not always the accepted approach. A historical review identifies 1958 as the year its superiority was demonstrated after centuries of competing artificial-respiration methods.
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DeBard ML. Ann Emerg Med. 1980: The history of cardiopulmonary resuscitationDefibrillation first went inside
Successful human defibrillation was performed internally in 1947, before external human defibrillation in 1956. The familiar through-the-chest approach came later.
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DeBard ML. Ann Emerg Med. 1980: The history of cardiopulmonary resuscitationRoad safety helped reshape EMS
The US Highway Safety Act of 1966 helped drive emergency medical services reform. Federal involvement extended beyond roads to ambulance specifications, equipment and emergency-care planning.
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Shah MN. Am J Public Health 2006;96:414–423What is the purpose of pressure immobilisation after an Australian snakebite?
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RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Snakebite@scrollmed_auEmergency
NSW Poisons Information Centre: Poisons first aidWhat establishes the need for snake antivenom in a child?
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RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Snakebite@scrollmed_auEmergency
healthdirect: Jellyfish stingsWhich pair of cardiac arrest rhythms is shockable?
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ANZCOR Guideline 11.2: Adult ALSIn adult VF/pulseless VT arrest, when is the first adrenaline given under the ANZCOR algorithm?
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ANZCOR Guideline 11.2: Adult ALSA conscious person has inhaled food but can cough effectively. What is the best initial response?
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ANZCOR Guideline 4: Airway@scrollmed_auEmergency
RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Head injuryClosed-chest CPR was a turning point
Open-chest cardiac massage once dominated resuscitation. A 1960 demonstration showed that closed-chest massage could be equally effective and easier to perform—a key turning point towards modern CPR.
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DeBard ML. Ann Emerg Med. 1980: The history of cardiopulmonary resuscitationA child did not lose consciousness after a head injury. What does this establish?
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RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Head injury@scrollmed_auEmergency
ACSQHC: Stroke Clinical Care Standard@scrollmed_auEmergency
RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Snakebite@scrollmed_auEmergency
NSW Poisons Information Centre: Poisons first aidAfter safe rescue, a drowning patient is unresponsive and not breathing normally. Which approach is recommended?
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ANZCOR Guideline 9.3.2: Resuscitation in DrowningVentilation experiments predate CPR
Artificial respiration has roots in Vesalius's experiments on living animals during the 16th century. Ventilation research therefore preceded the modern combination of rescue breathing, compressions and defibrillation by centuries.
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DeBard ML. Ann Emerg Med. 1980: The history of cardiopulmonary resuscitation@scrollmed_auEmergency
ANZCOR Guideline 4: AirwayWhich symptom cluster can signal a heart attack even without prominent chest pain?
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Heart Foundation: What is a heart attack?@scrollmed_auEmergency
RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines: Burns – acute managementAn ambulance carrying an operating kit
Larrey's ambulance system carried more than patients: it included food, water, bandages and the means to perform surgery at the scene. Bringing treatment forward was part of the design.
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Turner MD, Shah MH. Cureus 2024;16:e62375@scrollmed_auEmergency
ACSQHC: Sepsis Clinical Care StandardYou're all caught up
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