International Emergency Medicine: A Review of the Literature from 2007

Abstract

The subspecialty of international emergency medicine (IEM) continues to grow within the United States, just as the specialty of emergency medicine (EM) continues to spread to both developed and developing countries around the world. One of the greatest obstacles, however, faced by IEM researchers and practitioners alike, remains the lack of a high-quality, consolidated, and easily accessible evidence-base of literature. In response to this perceived need, members of the Emergency Medicine Resident Association (EMRA) International Emergency Medicine Committee, in conjunction with members of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) International Health Interest Group, have embarked on the task of creating a recurring review of IEM literature. This publication represents the third annual review, covering the top 30 IEM research articles published in 2007. Articles were selected for the review according to explicit, predetermined criteria that included both methodologic quality and perceived impact of the research. It is hoped that this annual review will act as a forum for disseminating best practices, while also stimulating further research in the field of IEM.ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2008; 15:860-865 ª

International Emergency Medicine: A Review of the Literature From 2008

“…As in past years, the 26 articles selected for review span a broad diversity of topics, testifying to the incredible breadth of IEM 6,33 . Within the diversity of topics this year, however, four major categories emerged that may serve to better define the boundaries of this continually evolving subspecialty of EM.…”

“…Similar to prior years, our search included both a list of “international” terms, including world health, developing countries, international, global, tropical medicine, third world, middle‐income countries, and low‐income countries , as well as a set of “emergency” terms, including emergency medicine, emergency medical services, prehospital, acute disease, critical illness, emergencies, wounds and injuries, relief work, rescue work, disasters, refugees, disease outbreaks, multiple trauma, triage, humanitarian, war, vulnerable populations, conflict, and emergency treatment. 6 …”

“…The scoring systems each included five different quality measures consisting of three methodologic criteria and two impact criteria adapted from our prior reviews (Table 1). 6 The total scores for each article from the two separate reviewers were then averaged together to create a final combined score for each article.…”

Global Emergency Medicine: A Review of the Literature From 2014

“…The Global Emergency Medicine Literature Review (GEMLR) strives to ensure that emergency care providers have access to the most current and important research conducted on relevant topics around the world. GEMLR began 10 years ago in an attempt to identify and consolidate the relevant global emergency medicine (EM) literature into a format that is readily available to academics and practitioners . This year, our panel of seasoned reviewers includes physicians from Canada, China, Germany, Ghana, Singapore, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.…”

Global Emergency Medicine: A Review of the Literature From 2013

“…The Global Emergency Medicine Literature Review (GEMLR) strives to ensure that emergency practitioners have access to the most current and important research conducted on relevant topics around the world. GEMLR began 9 years ago in an attempt to identify and consolidate the best global emergency medicine (EM) literature into a format that was easy for both academics and practitioners to access and comprehend . This year, our panel of seasoned reviewers includes physicians from Canada, China, Ghana, Lebanon, Kenya, Sudan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.…”