Mark P D, Hodge J A
Department of Emergency Medicine, Fremantle Hospital, WA.
Med J Aust. 1991;155(11-12):767-71. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1991.tb94032.x.
To review the first 30 months' experience in providing medical advice by radio to the masters of vessels in the Indian and Southern Oceans. The Department of Emergency Medicine at Fremantle Hospital has provided this service since October 1987.
Details of all cases were collected prospectively.
The master of the ship communicates with the senior medical staff in the Department of Emergency Medicine by telex or radio-telephone.
Seventy-five patients were discussed in 30 months. They were aboard 68 ships from 17 nations. Forty-eight patients has spontaneous illnesses, of which 41 were classified as medical and 7 surgical. Twenty-seven patients sustained injury. The most frequent medications advised by the doctor were analgesics and antibiotics. In 12% of cases, the doctor recommended that the ship change course significantly in order to discharge the patient to medical care. In another 11% of cases the patient was discharged at an unscheduled but nearby port, although not all of these diversions were urgent.
Despite the difficulties in assessing a patient one cannot see, most illnesses can be diagnosed with a reasonable degree of certainty and useful treatment can be instituted aboard ship. Improving communication systems make the task easier, but variation in the contents of the pharmaceutical cabinets aboard ships is a problem.
回顾通过无线电向印度洋和南大洋船舶船长提供医疗建议的头30个月的经验。自1987年10月以来，弗里曼特尔医院急诊科一直在提供这项服务。
前瞻性收集所有病例的详细信息。
船舶船长通过电传或无线电话与急诊科的高级医务人员进行沟通。
30个月内讨论了75例患者。他们乘坐的是来自17个国家的68艘船舶。48例患者患有自发性疾病，其中41例归类为内科疾病，7例为外科疾病。27例患者受伤。医生建议使用的最常见药物是镇痛药和抗生素。在12%的病例中，医生建议船舶大幅改变航线以便将患者送去就医。在另外11%的病例中，患者在非预定但附近的港口下船，尽管并非所有这些改道都是紧急情况。
尽管在评估一个看不见的患者时存在困难，但大多数疾病可以在合理的确定性程度上得到诊断，并且可以在船上进行有效的治疗。改善通信系统使这项任务更容易，但船上药品柜内容的差异是一个问题。
