Sutures are placed to aid with wound healing following a traumatic laceration or surgical incision and to promote haemostasis. In this article, we will look at the different types of suture classifications, the indications for each type of suture and the common suturing techniques that are used. Alternative methods of tissue closure Steri-strips Often used
If the thought of conducting an intimate examination or attempting to wield (without any embarrassing pitfalls) the contraption that is the speculum is enough to fill you with apprehension- fear not! The good news is that junior doctors are not typically expected to perform speculum/bimanual examinations unless you are on an O&G or GP placement.
A lumbar puncture uses a fine needle inserted between the vertebrae in the lower back to take samples of CSF from the subarachnoid space. The CSF that is obtained can aid the diagnosis of infections, subarachnoid haemorrhage & neurological disorders including Guillan-Barré Syndrome (GBS) or MS. Check out our article on CSF interpretation for more
Being able to use an ophthalmoscope confidently is very important to junior doctors, especially when identifying eye emergencies. In this article, we will go through the steps of eye examination using an ophthalmoscope. When is ophthalmoscopy used? In clinical practice, ophthalmoscopy is commonly performed for posterior segment diseases affecting the vitreous, macula, retina or optic
Femoral puncture is typically used to acquire blood from a patient in an emergency setting as both the veins and arteries are large vessels. In profound hypotension, unlike the radial, the femoral artery remains palpable. In a cardiac arrest, good quality CPR should result in a palpable pulsation. Typically a venous sample is preferred as
Ascitic aspiration (tap) is routinely performed for every patient admitted with ascites to identify the underlying cause. The most urgent reason to do it would be to consider the diagnosis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP). Occasionally a patient may have a therapeutic aspiration where a larger volume is aspirated to relieve pressure if a drain
NG tubes are passed from the nose to the stomach. Depending on the material, they can stay between 2 to 6 weeks. However, they quite easily can fall out either being accidentally tugged at night or the tube might get caught. Due to this, they sometimes fall out within a week or two. Wide-bore NGT
This article will discuss how to take blood and cannulate patients in the paediatric setting.
In this article, we discuss when a catheter might be needed and top tips on male & female catheterisation. Before attempting catheterisation, always review the following Is the catheter needed? For males, a bottle or a conveen (a urethral sheath or essentially a condom) can be great Urine output might not need to be that
Non-invasive ventilation is a way of providing ventilatory support to patients in respiratory failure without using an invasive airway device (e.g. ET tube or tracheostomy tube). The devices are becoming increasingly commonplace in medical practice and can be set up by trained professionals in the Emergency Department, on the wards, in ICU or even at
