Escalation: when to discuss tertiary centres

Happy New Year! This month for the February 2026 episode of the RCEM Learning Podcast Andy and Dave discuss blood pressure targets in spinal cord injury. Becky and Chris talk through a New Zealand Chest Injury Guideline and Rob then talks with Charlotte Underwood and the role of gender in the assessment of abdominal pain. If you'd like to email us, please feel free to do so here. After listening, complete a short quiz to have your time accredited for CPD at the RCEMLearning website!

(02:14) New in EM - Blood pressure targets in spinal cord injury

• Early Blood Pressure Targets in Acute Spinal Cord Injury: A Randomized Clinical Trial (Sajdeya et al., 2025)

(17:06) Guidelines for EM - New Zealand Chest Injury Guidance

• Health New Zealand - National Chest Injury Guidance (2025) [PDF]

(59:44) Gender and assessment of abdominal pain - Charlotte Underwood

• Expression of interest to join this study
• Gender disparity in analgesic treatment of emergency department patients with acute abdominal pain (Chen et al., 2008)
• Race and Sex Are Associated With Variations in Pain Management in Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department With Undifferentiated Abdominal Pain (Drogell et al., 2022)
• Women's experiences of seeking healthcare for abdominal pain in Ireland: a qualitative study (Windrim et al., 2024)
• Ending the neglect of women's health in research (Galea et al., 2023)