It’s something we all encounter in emergency and prehospital care, probably more than anything else, yet it’s a topic we’ve not given a full episode to… until now!

Up to 70% of prehospital patients and 60–90% of ED attendees report pain, with half of all ED presentations having pain as the primary complaint. That’s millions of patients across Europe every year and we’re not always optimising our approach!

In this episode, we’re diving deep into acute pain management; from understanding the complex biopsychosocial definition of pain, right through to tailored pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies, plus everything in between.

We’ll be looking at how we define and assess pain and the importance of validating patient experience. Then we’ll work through management options: from paracetamol to ketamine, NSAIDs to regional anaesthesia, and talk through barriers like bias, opiophobia, and the persistent inequalities in analgesic delivery.

We'll also shine a light on special groups; from paediatrics to chronic pain patients and those with opioid use concerns, finishing with key takeaways on safe discharge planning.

This one’s about being better at recognising, respecting, and relieving pain. Because pain is an emergency, and we’ve got the tools to do something about it.

Once again we’d love to hear any thoughts or feedback either on the website or via X @TheResusRoom!

Simon, Rob & James

Welcome back to June 2025's papers podcast!

Having been cynical about CPR feedback devices in the past we take a look at a recent paper on their use and their potential impact to both ROSC and survival for patients, when compared to standard practice; is it time to integrate them more definitively into our practice?

Next up we take another look at the use of adrenaline in traumatic arrest. We've covered this before and there's some interesting data and discussion to be had around the topic and the paper.

Finally, we all know about the unprecidented pressure on ED’s and all forms of healthcare at the moment. Many patients waiting for hours and hours to be seen. But there may be systems and routes by which others can be identified with lower acuity presentations that may not need to wait overnight for long periods, and our final paper looks at this with a paper on 'deflection'.

Once again we’d love to hear any thoughts or feedback either on the website or via X @TheResusRoom!

Simon & Rob

Welcome back! In this episode, we’re diving deep into something we all think we know, the Glasgow Coma Scale.

The GCS has been a fundamental part of assessing patients with altered consciousness for over 50 years. You’ll find it in trauma scores, neurology exams and practically every prehospital and ED handover. But here's the thing, is it as reliable and useful as we think?

In this episode, we’ll explore the origins of the scale, what it was designed for and how it’s been used (and maybe misused...) since. We take a look at how reproducible it really is, particularly when different clinicians score the same patient. Spoiler alert: it’s not always as consistent as you might hope!

We’ll also unpack the individual components; eyes, voice, motor and ask if they all carry equal weight, or are some more prognostically useful than others? Because a GCS of 4 isn’t always the same GCS of 4, depending on how you get there…

We’ll be looking at real-world implications, how we make decisions around airway management, imaging, and referral, all based on that one number.

So whether you’re in prehospital care, the ED, or intensive care - stick with us as we try to answer the question: is the GCS still doing what we need it to, or is it time to move on?

Once again we’d love to hear any thoughts or feedback either on the website or via X @TheResusRoom!

Simon, Rob & James