Time to Hemorrhage Control in a Hybrid ER System: Is It Time to Change?

Abstract

Time to hemorrhage control is critical, as mortality in patients with severe hemorrhage that arrive to trauma centers with sign of life remains over 40%. Prompt identification and management of severe hemorrhage is paramount to reducing mortality. In traditional US trauma systems, the early hospital course of a severely hemorrhaging patient typically proceeds from the trauma resuscitation bay to the operating room or angiography suite with a potential stop for radiological imaging. This protracted journey can prove fatal as it consumes valuable minutes. In contrast to the current US system is a newly developed and increasingly adopted system in Japan called the hybrid emergency room system (HERS). The hybrid ER is equipped to allow resuscitation, imaging, and damage control intervention to occur in the ER without the need to transport the patient to a subsequent destination. The HERS is relatively new and remains restricted to a small number of institutions, limiting the ability to robustly examine impact(s) on patient outcomes. Even if proven to yield superior outcomes, there are significant obstacles to adopting the HERS in the US. Challenges such as the high cost of building and implementing a HER system, return on investment, and the significant differences between the US and Japan in terms of physician training, trauma center, and reimbursement schemes may render the hybrid ER system to be unfeasible in most current trauma centers. Barriers aside, the Japanese hybrid ER system remains the most novel recent advancement in the quest to reduce potentially preventable mortality from hemorrhage.