14.08.2008

“FIRST AID FOR JELLYFISH STINGS”

An article recently published in the journal Emergency Medicine Australasia recommended hot water for all jellyfish stings. 1 This was accompanied by a press release from the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine.

The ARC was concerned about the content and accuracy of the information contained in the article and has responded accordingly.

The Editor

Emergency Medicine Australia

I write in response to the article published by Little in the February issue of Emergency Medicine Australasia regarding the first aid management of jellyfish stings 1. Also concerning the subsequent press release from the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM), as both are misleading, contain inaccurate information and are critical of the Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC). The ARC revised and re-issued its guideline for jellyfish stings in July 2007 2.

This was following a systematic review of the published data and extensive consultation with member organisations of the ARC, which included ACEM. This process was consistent with the NHMRC’s recommendation for developing clinical practice guidelines. The revised guideline now recommends the use of hot water for Physalia sp. (Bluebottle), which is consistent with the evidence and has been available on the ARC website (www.resus.org.au) 2.

Accordingly, we are somewhat surprised that neither the article’s author, nor reviewers were aware of the release of this updated ARC guideline, as there had been extensive consultation nationally. The article by Little presents no new information, and is opinion-based on a narrative review of published and unpublished data 1. Furthermore, we suggest that the author may now have even added to this confusion by referring to studies on Box jellyfish in the same paragraph as the Loten study, which was solely on Bluebottle stings. The press release issued by ACEM has generated considerable interest from the media as the spectre of controversy is raised. The ARC encourages ongoing research by the author and others in this area, but is of the opinion that the information published in journals or by professional organisations needs to be contemporaneous and accurate.

Associate Professor Ian Jacobs

National Chairman

References

1/. Little M. First aid for jellyfish stings: Do we really know what we are doing? Emerg. Med. Australas. 2008;20:78-80.

2/. Australian Resuscitation Council. Guideline 8.9.6 Envenomation – Jellyfish Stings. July 2007, pp 1-5. www.resus.org.au/