Text Messaging May Be A Sign That The Young Person Can Be Discharged

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 30 Dec 2008 - 0:00 PST

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Medical staff working at music festivals are using a patient's ability to send a text message as a sign that they may be fit for discharge, according to an article in the Christmas issue published on bmj.com.

Staff from the Festival Medical Services charity, who provide a resuscitation service to the audience at festivals such as Glastonbury and Reading, noticed that teenagers who fainted or had panic attacks were likely to text their friends as soon as they were able.

The ability to send a text message, however little sense they make, requires a certain level of dexterity, coordination and consciousness, that may indicate a patient has recovered and is no longer in need of medical treatment.

For the past two years, the researchers have been using this "Text Messaging Sign" as a tool for considering that a patient may be ready to be discharged back to the festival.

Indeed, it has been so successful that only 6 - 8 medical staff were needed to treat an influx of 130 patients within 90 minutes, during a set by the band "Rage Against the Machine" at this year's Reading festival.

The authors call for further research into the "Text messaging Sign" as a valid sign of recovery following fainting and panic attacks and its potential for use in overloaded A & E departments.

"Filler: Texting shows recovery after faint"
BMJ Online
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