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Abstract
DiGiovanna
T, Rosen T, Forsett R, Sivertson K, Kelen GD. "Shipboard
medicine: a new niche for emergency medicine," Annals of
Emergency Medicine,
1992,
21:12 (Dec), 1476-9
OBJECTIVES: To describe the
spectrum of illness that presents
to shipboard hospitals and thereby recommend optimal qualifications for
the ship's medical personnel. DESIGN: Retrospective review of medical
logs from two cruise ships' hospitals. SETTINGS: Two passenger cruise
ships, with seven-to-ten day cruises in the Caribbean. PARTICIPANTS:
All patients presenting to the ships' hospitals from January 4, 1989,
to June 10, 1989, on one ship and from October 13, 1990, to November
10, 1990, on another ship. METHODS: Analysis of ship medical logs with
regard to patient complaint, diagnosis, and treatment. RESULTS: Of
1,547 new patient visits, 12% were related to injuries and 88% to
medical problems; 97% of visits were noncritical, and 3% required
immediate emergency intervention. Among these were four cardiac
arrests, two stab wounds, two serious ocular injuries, one closed-head
injury, and one near-drowning. Five patients required endotracheal
intubation. CONCLUSION: There is a sizeable number of visits to ships'
hospitals by patients with acute and serious problems of a wide
variety. Physicians and nurses with significant emergency training or
experience are best qualified to deal with this broad spectrum of
patient problems in this isolated environment.
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