What happens to an emergency department when staff go on strike? A new study published in EMJ examines this challenging scenario and its impact on patient flow. Another paper looks at the hybrid-warfare attack carried out in Lebanon, where exploding pagers caused a mass casualty incident, and what emergency departments can learn from managing that event. EMJ editor Prof. Richard Body adds some of his own reflections from the Ariana Grande concert terror attack in Manchester. Two more complex situations round out the list of papers for this episode, covering out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in pregnant patients, and magnet ingestion in children.

Read the highlights: Primary survey

• Prehospital resuscitative hysterotomy: a practice review
• The pager explosions: lessons learnt from a hybrid-warfare mass casualty incident
• What health systems should learn from the Lebanon pager attack
• Diagnosis and management of paediatric magnet ingestion: a systematic review of clinical practice guidelines
• Evaluating the impact of NHS strikes on patient flow through emergency departments

The EMJ podcast is hosted by:

Prof. Richard Body, EMJ Deputy Editor, University of Manchester, UK (@richardbody) Dr. Sarah Edwards, EMJ Senior Associate Editor and Social Media Editor, Royal Derby Hospital, UK (@drsarahedwards)

You can subscribe to the EMJ podcast on all podcast platforms to get the latest podcast every month. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider leaving us a review or a comment on the EMJ Podcast Apple (https://apple.co/4bfcMU0) or Spotify (https://spoti.fi/3ufutSL) page.

"Should we be giving blood transfusions to patients with traumatic cardiac arrest?" EMJ editor Prof. Richard Body and associate editor Dr. Sarah Edwards talk through some original research on the value of blood transfusions in this difficult situation. Next is the new UNCORKED study from the Trainee Emergency Research Network (TERN), with some sobering statistics on the prevalence of emergency care carried out in non-standard treatment places across the UK. Then we move to a world of high-pressure injuries, often caused by industrial spraying equipment, where things on the surface aren't quite as they seem. The last paper returns to the theme of cardiac arrests, examining the predictive value of end-tidal CO2 usage. Read the highlights: Primary survey:

• The association of blood transfusion and sustained return of spontaneous circulation in blunt traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
• Understanding corridor and escalation area care in 165 UK emergency departments: a multicentre cross-sectional snapshot study
• Recognising high-pressure injection injuries to the hand: a practice review with guidance for emergency physicians
• Prognostic accuracy of end-tidal carbon dioxide in cardiac arrest: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The EMJ podcast is hosted by:

Prof. Richard Body, EMJ Editor-in-Chief, University of Manchester, UK (@richardbody) Dr. Sarah Edwards, EMJ Senior Associate Editor and Social Media Editor, Royal Derby Hospital, UK (@drsarahedwards)

You can subscribe to the EMJ podcast on all podcast platforms to get the latest podcast every month. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider leaving us a review or a comment on the EMJ Podcast Apple (https://apple.co/4bfcMU0) or Spotify (https://spoti.fi/3ufutSL) page.

It's the first issue of 2026, and the first with new editor-in-chief Prof. Richard Body heading the journal. He is joined by senior associate editor Dr. Sarah Edwards, as they take a look at some highlights of the issue.

First in the line-up is a paper looking at how "Same day emergency care" units, or SDECs, have come to mean quite different things across the UK. In some cases, the rule-out processing of SDECs harks back to "What the ED used to do" in past years. The next paper is an examination of the treatment methods for paracetamol overdose, specifically the SNAP protocol for accelerated infusion of N-acetylcysteine. This new analysis considers the likelihood of anaphylactoid reactions across age groups. Third to be discussed is a retrospective study on the relationship between length of stay and morbidity and mortality in older patients. This large study from Singapore suggests a systemic change in approach is needed for handling triaging and discharge of this patient group. The final topic is facial lacerations, with a Best Evidence Topic report addressing the use of topical silicone gel. Many patients are rightly concerned about scarring on such a personal part of the body as their face, and the report finds some encouraging support for use of the gel to improve cosmetic healing.

Read the highlights: January 2026 primary survey

• How is same day emergency care (SDEC) being implemented across England?
• Scottish and Newcastle Antiemetic Protocol (SNAP) 12-hour acetylcysteine regimen for paracetamol overdose reduces anaphylactoid reactions without compromising hepatic protection in all age groups: a secondary analysis
• Association between age and length of stay in the emergency department in a tertiary care hospital: a retrospective observational study
• Should we be advising patients to use topical silicone gel for wound care following facial laceration suturing in the emergency department ?

The EMJ podcast is hosted by:

Prof. Richard Body, EMJ Editor-in-Chief, University of Manchester, UK (@richardbody) Dr. Sarah Edwards, EMJ Senior Associate Editor and Social Media Editor, Royal Derby Hospital, UK (@drsarahedwards)

You can subscribe to the EMJ podcast on all podcast platforms to get the latest podcast every month. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider leaving us a review or a comment on the EMJ Podcast Apple (https://apple.co/4bfcMU0) or Spotify (https://spoti.fi/3ufutSL) page.