Prehospital Patients Research Articles

Differences in pain treatment between surgeons and anaesthesiologists in a physician staffed prehospital emergency medical service: a retrospective cohort analysis

BackgroundAlthough pain treatment is an important objective in prehospital emergency medicine the incidence of oligoanalgesia is still high in prehospital patients. Given that prehospital emergency medicine in Germany is open for physicians of any speciality, the prehospital pain treatment may differ depending on the primary medical education. Aim of this study was to explore the difference in pain treatment between surgeons and anaesthesiologists in a physician staffed emergency medical service.MethodsRetrospective single centre cohort analysis in a physician staffed ground based emergency medical service from January 2014 until December 2016. A total of 8882 consecutive emergency missions were screened. Primary outcome measure was the difference in application frequency of prehospital analgesics by anaesthesiologist or surgeon. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used for statistical analysis including subgroup analysis for trauma and acute coronary syndrome.ResultsA total of 8238 patients were included in the analysis. There was a significant difference in the application frequency of analgesics between surgeons and anaesthesiologists especially for opioids (p < 0.001, OR 0.68 [0.56–0.82]). Fentanyl was the most common administered analgesic in the trauma subgroup, but significantly less common used by surgeons (p = 0.005, OR 0.63 [0.46–0.87]). In acute coronary syndrome cases there was no significant difference in morphine administration between anaesthesiologists and surgeons (p = 0.49, OR 0.88 [0.61–1.27]).ConclusionsIncreased training for prehospital pain treatment should be implemented, since opioids were administered notably less frequent by surgeons than by anaesthesiologists.

Prehospital National Early Warning Score predicts early mortality.

National Early Warning Score (NEWS) has been shown to be the best early warning score to predict in-hospital mortality but there is limited information on its predictive value in a prehospital setting. The aim of the current study was to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of NEWS in a prehospital setting using large population-based databases in terms of short-term mortality. We calculated the NEWS scores from retrospective prehospital electronic patient record data and analysed their possible relationship to mortality. We included all patient records for patients 18years or older with sufficient prehospital data to calculate NEWS from 17 August 2008 to 18 December 2015 encountered by the emergency medical services (EMS) in the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa, Finland. The primary outcome measure was death within 1day of EMS dispatch. 35800 patients were included. Their mean (SD) age was 65.8 (19.9) years. The median value of NEWS was 3 (IQR 1-6). The primary outcome of death within 1day of EMS dispatch occurred in 378 (1.1%) cases. Area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) for primary outcome of death within 1day was 0.840 (95% CI 0.823-0.858). AUROC for 1day mortality in trauma subgroup was 0.901 (95% CI 0.859-0.942). Prehospital NEWS predicts mortality within 1 day of EMS dispatch with good diagnostic accuracy.

Evaluation and Comparison of Different Prehospital Triage Scores of Trauma Patients on In-Hospital Mortality

Introduction: Several prehospital major trauma patient triage scores have been developed, the triage revised trauma score (T-RTS), Vittel criteria, Mechanism/Glasgow Coma Scale/Age/Systolic blood pressure score (MGAP), and the new trauma score (NTS). These scoring schemes allow a rapid and accurate prognostic assessment of the severity of potential lesions. The aim of our study was to compare these scores with in-hospital mortality predictions in a cohort of consecutive trauma patients admitted in a Level 1 trauma center. Materials: Between 2013 and 2016, 1,112 patients were admitted to the "major trauma" spinneret of a Level 1 trauma center in the south of France. All prehospital data needed to calculate the T-RTS, Vittel criteria, the MGAP score, and the NTS were collected. The main evaluation criterion was in-hospital mortality at 30 days for all causes. The predictive performances of these scores were evaluated and compared with each other using the analysis of the receiver operating curves. Results: A total of 1,001 patients were included in the analysis, 238 (24%) females, aged 43 ± 19 years with ISS 15 ± 13. The area under the curve was for each score: T-RTS, AUC = 0.84, [0.82–0.87]; Vittel criteria, AUC = 0.87 [0.85–0.89]; MGAP score, AUC = 0.91 [0.89–0.92] and NTS, AUC = 0.90 [0.88–0.92]. By comparing the ROC curves of these scores, the MGAP and NTS scores were statistically higher than the T-RTS. With the current thresholds, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of these scores were 91%, 35%, 10%, 98% for T-RTS, 100%, 2%, 8%, 100% for Vittel criteria, 91%, 71%, 24%, 99% for MGAP score, 82%, 86%, 33%, 98% for NTS. Only Vittel's criteria allowed undertriage below 5% as recommended by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACSCOT). Conclusion: The comparison of these different triage scores concluded with a superiority of the MGAP and NTS scores compared with the T-RTS. Including the calculation of MGAP or NTS scores with the Vittel criteria would reduce the risk of overtriage in the Level 1 trauma centers by further directing patients at low risk of death to a lower-level trauma facility.

Systemic analysis of pre-hospital trauma emergency treatment in Zhengzhou

Objective: To analyze the data of pre-hospital emergency treatment in zhengzhou from 2007 to 2016, and evaluate the current situation of pre-hospital trauma emergency treatment, in order to provide a scientific basis for effective use of first aid resources and enhance success rate of trauma emergency treatment. Methods: Retrospective analysis was conducted based on pre-hospital emergency resources of Zhengzhou Emergency Medical Rescue Center from 2007 to 2016. Results: The total number of pre-hospital emergency treatment cases was 9 305 687 from 2007 to 2016 in Zhengzhou, of which 418 882 were trauma cases. The top five causes of injury were traffic accident injury, cutting injury, beating injury, crushing injury and falling injury. The top five emergency treatments used were oxygen, hemostasis, dressing and fixation, fluid supplementation, analgesics and sputum aspiration. According to different directions of diagnosis, the pre-hospital emergency patients were divided into four groups: emergency treatment group, emergency observation group, admission to general ward group and admission to ICU group. There was no statistical difference in the ages among the four groups (P>0.05). There were significantly statistical differences in gender composition among the four groups, with more males than females (P 0.05), but the mortality of the trauma, the average arrival time, and the mean treatment time were significantly different (P<0.01). Conclusions: The number of pre-hospital emergency trauma patients increased year by year, but the constituent ratio changed little. CRAMS score is important for the patients triage. Through the training of primary trauma care, the constituent ratio of death was reduced, and the average treatment time was shortened.

Development and domestication of a clinical guideline for pharmacological pain management of trauma patients in prehospital setting

Introduction: Inadequate management of acute traumatic pain in the prehospital stage is a fact, which has many physical and mental adverse effects. No clinical guideline for the pain management of prehospital trauma patients in Iran has been published yet. Aims: This study aimed at development and domestication of a clinical guideline for pharmacological management of pain in prehospital trauma patients. Materials and Methods: A multistage evolutionary study method was used. First, a systematic review of articles, books, and guidelines for prehospital acute pain management with a comprehensive approach was carried out, then clinical guidelines with the most relevance to the topic were selected, and their quality was evaluated with AGREE tools. Finally, the initial guideline was developed based on the recommendations of the most comprehensive ones. The Delphi method and experts panel were used to summarize the information and finalize the clinical guidelines recommendations. Results: A total of 38 clinical guidelines and 150 related articles were found, of which five more comprehensive clinical guidelines and the most relevant topics were identified and reviewed. The recommendations that were agreed on by the Delphi stage were considered as the final recommendations, and others were reviewed again in the panel of experts by making the necessary changes. Finally, the domestic clinical guideline with 52 recommendations in three areas (general, assessment, and drug recommendations) was developed. Conclusions: Iran prehospital emergency organizations can use the recommendations of this clinical guideline to improve the quality of care, satisfaction, and protect patients' right.

How is Ambulance Patient Care and Response Time Data Collected and Reported in Malaysia and Indonesia?

Introduction Ambulance service design is often reminiscent of the economic status of a country, with pre-hospital care in low to medium income countries relying on basic life support services and an historical ‘swoop and scoop’ Anglo-American emergency medical service model. The connection between pre-hospital intervention and patient outcome in low to medium income countries is unclear. This scoping study undertook an examination of the literature to establish the level and quality of patient care data collection, especially as it impacts ambulance case times in Malaysia and Indonesia. Methods A scoping review methodology with topic specific keywords including ‘ambulance’, ‘emergency medical service’, ‘pre-hospital’ (and their variants) using MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane and EMBase databases was used. Results Of the 202 articles returned, 185 were screened, 85 full text articles were reviewed for relevance. Forty-three publications were included in the study with a number of other relevant from the grey literature. Conclusion The scoping study found there is no consistency in data collection methods in Indonesian or Malaysia, with some organisations collecting high quality data while others do not collect pre-hospital data. The study recommends deeper investigation into the status of standardisation of emergency medical services in the two countries and the manner in which the data is reported.

Retrospective Non-Randomised Study of STEMI Management Pre and Post Participation in the Victorian Cardiac Outcome Registry

Introduction: This is a retrospective, non-randomised study to evaluate improvement in quality of care due to participation in the Victorian Cardiac Outcome Registry (VCOR) at Mulgrave Private Hospital, Victoria. We compared data from all STEMI presentations in 2015 (pre VCOR) and 2018 (during VCOR). International guidelines benchmark 90 minutes for best practice door-to-balloontime (DTBT). Results: Close auditing of each interval was initiated during the 2018 VCOR era. Average door to cathlab time was +9.1 min (2015) and −8.2 min (2018), with the negative value denoting lab activation prior to arrival. For Ambulance Victoria pre-hospital notification patients, the comparison was 21.5 min (2015) and 14.6 min (2018). Average Door to cathlab activation also improved by 8 minutes (2015: 20.3 min; 2018: 12.5 min). Mean DTBT was longer in 2018 (106 mins) compared to 2015 (73.5 mins) but can be attributed to clinical complexity. Median DTBT was improved by 7 minutes (59 mins). Door to triage time also improved (2015: 9.75 mins; 2018: <2 mins). Conclusion: Closer auditing as a direct involvement with VCOR can identify where resources are required to achieve a DTBT <90 minutes. Cathlab is now activated earlier and DT to triage has reduced in 2018. While achieving DTBT 75% <90 minutes in both 2015 and 2018, increased visibility during VCOR involvement points to heightened proactivity in reducing DTBT aiming for improved outcomes for STEMI patients.

Ready for Children: Assessing Pediatric Care Coordination and Psychomotor Skills Evaluation in the Prehospital Setting

Objective: Pediatric patients represent low frequency but potentially high-risk encounters for emergency medical services (EMS) providers. Scant information is available from EMS agencies on the frequency of pediatric skill evaluation and the presence of pediatric emergency care coordination, both which may help EMS systems optimize care for children. The objective of our study was to assess the frequency and type of methods used to assess psychomotor skills competency using pediatric-specific equipment and pediatric care coordination in EMS ground transport agencies. Methods: A web-based assessment was sent to EMS agency directors in 58 states/territories to determine the presence of pediatric care coordination defined as an individual who oversees pediatric issues (Pediatric Care Coordinator or PECC) and the process for evaluating psychomotor skills of EMS providers using of pediatric equipment. Basic demographic information of each agency was collected. Descriptive statistics, odds ratios, and 95% confidence intervals were used for analyses. Results: The response rate was 78% (8,166/10,463 agencies). Almost 80% of agencies respond to fewer than 100 pediatric calls a year; over half of the agencies are located in urban areas and provide Advanced Life Support care. Twenty-three percent (23%) of EMS agency administrators report having a PECC and 28% have plans or interest in adding one. Of those agencies with a PECC, 26% report sharing the position among several agencies. Almost half (47%) of EMS agencies evaluate pediatric psychomotor skills at least twice a year. Agencies with a PECC, those with a medium to medium high pediatric call volume and agencies located in urban areas are more likely to evaluate psychomotor skills at least twice a year. Conclusions: Although few EMS agencies currently have a PECC, there is interest among EMS agency administrators to integrate one into their system. Pediatric-specific psychomotor skills testing is more common in EMS agencies that respond to a higher pediatric call volume and have a PECC. For EMS agencies that infrequently treat children, the presence of a PECC may enhance the frequency of pediatric psychomotor skills evaluation. The presence of a PECC can potentially increase provider confidence and safety for all pediatric prehospital patients regardless of volume and location.

Multicenter Analysis of Transport Destinations for Pediatric Prehospital Patients.

Although all emergency departments (EDs) should be ready to treat children, some may have illnesses or injuries that require higher-level pediatric resources that are not available at all hospitals. There are no national guidelines for emergency medical services (EMS) providers about when to directly transport children to hospitals with higher-level pediatric resources, with the exception of severe trauma. Variability exists in EMS protocols about when children warrant transport to hospitals with higher-level pediatric care. The objective was to determine how frequently pediatric patients are transported by EMS to hospitals with higher-level pediatric resources and to evaluate distribution patterns based on illness and injury severity. We conducted a retrospective analysis of all pediatric (age 0-18 years) transports in three large EMS systems between November 2014 and November 2016. Each community had a hospital with higher-level pediatric resources that was within a 30-minute transport time from any location. Patients were included if they were transported by ground ambulance and the request originated in the 9-1-1 system. We assessed the frequency of transports to a hospital with higher-level pediatric resources. Data were stratified by chief complaint of illness or injury and severity. Potential risk for severe injury was defined as meeting the physiologic step of the field triage guidelines and potential risk for severe illness was defined as having an abnormal vital sign after adjusting for patient age. A total of 41,345 pediatric patients were transported by a participating EMS agency to an ED and had complete destination data. A total of 55% of all EMS-transported pediatric patients were transported to a hospital with higher-level pediatric resources. There was variation by site (range= 45%-71%) in the percentage of children who went to a hospital with higher-level pediatric resources. Patients over 15 years of age went to general EDs (57%) more often than younger patients. When stratified by severity, 60% of those with potentially severe illness and 74% of those with potentially severe trauma were transported to a hospital with higher-level pediatric resources. EMS providers commonly transport children to hospitals with higher-level pediatric resources. However, more than one-quarter of children with potentially severe injuries and illnesses are transported to general EDs.

Abstract 168: Association Between Prehospital Advanced Airway Management for Pediatric Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest and Survival

Introduction: It is unclear whether prehospital advanced airway management (AAM: endotracheal intubation and supraglottic airway device placement) for pediatric patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) improves patient outcomes. Objective: To test the hypothesis that prehospital advanced airway management during pediatric OHCA is associated with patient outcomes. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of a nationwide, prospective, population-based OHCA registry in Japan. We included pediatric patients (&lt;18 years) with OHCA in whom emergency medical services (EMS) personnel resuscitated and transported to medical institutions during 2014 and 2015. The primary outcome was one-month survival. Secondary outcome was one-month survival with favorable functional outcome, defined as cerebral performance category score 1 or 2. Patients who received AAM during cardiopulmonary resuscitation by EMS personnel at any given minute were sequentially matched with patients at risk of receiving AAM within the same minutes based on time-dependent propensity score calculated from a competing risk regression model in which we treated prehospital return of spontaneous circulation as a competing risk event. Results: We included 2,548 patients; 1,017 (39.9%) were infants (&lt;1 year), 839 (32.9%) were children (1 year to 12 years), and 692 (27.2%) were adolescents. Of the 2,548, included patients, 336 (13.2%) underwent prehospital AAM during cardiac arrest. In the time-dependent propensity score matched cohort (n = 642), there were no significant differences in one-month survival (AAM: 32/321 [10.0%] vs. no AAM: 27/321 [8.4%]; odds ratio, 1.33 [95% CI, 0.80 to 2.21]) and one-month survival with favorable functional outcome (AAM: 6/321 [1.9%] vs. no AAM: 5/321 [1.6%]; odds ratio, 1.48 [95% CI, 0.41 to 5.40]). Conclusions: Among pediatric patients with OHCA, we found no associations between prehospital AAM and favorable patient outcomes.

Difference of achievements between physicians from public hospitals and emergency medical center in prehospital emergency.

The benefit gained by replacing physicians in the prehospital service is still controversial. The present study compared the difference of achievements of pre-hospital emergency between the physicians from public hospitals and those from the Emergency Medical Center.We included prehospital emergency patients who were sent to the hospital by ambulance after emergency calls from February 1 to May 31, 2016, in Shanghai (24,250,000 inhabitants). Cohort characteristics and diagnoses were described, and the data were analyzed using the Shanghai Emergency Medical Center's database software. We determined whether the physicians from public hospitals were associated with greater success rate of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and examined the diseases category and the number of patients with cardiac arrest in prehospital emergency patients.During February 1, 2016, to May 31, 2016, the total turnout of ambulances in the urban area of Shanghai was 107,341 times, among which, first aid was 55,053 times. The number of patients with cardiac arrest was 3012, the 3 principal causes for cardiac arrest were Unknown diagnosis (45.19%), Cardiovascular disease (28.02%) and Respiratory diseases (11.09%), and the successful rate of CPR was 1.56%. The number of critically ill patients, encountered by the physicians from public hospitals, was 10.33% as compared to those from the Emergency Medical Center, which was 11.77% (P < .001). Although the success rate of CPR of the physicians from public hospitals was lower than that of the physicians from the Emergency Medical Center (1.22-1.58%), it did not achieve statistical significance (P > .05).Transferring the physicians from public hospitals to work in Emergency Medical Center showed no improvement in the success rates of resuscitation.

Attitudes of prehospital providers on transport decision-making in the management of patients with a suicide attempt refusing care: A survey based on the Mental Health Care Act of 2002.

BackgroundGiven the frequency of suicidal patients making attempts prior to a completed suicide, emergency access to mental health care services could lead to significant reduction in morbidity and mortality for these patients.AimTo describe the attitudes of prehospital providers and describe transport decision-making around the management of patients with a suicide attempt.SettingCape Town Metropole.MethodsA cross-sectional, vignette-based survey was used to collect data related to training and knowledge of the Mental Health Care Act, prehospital transport decision-making and patient management.ResultsPatients with less dramatic suicidal history were more likely to be discharged on scene. Few respondents reported the use of formal suicide evaluation tools to aid their decision. Respondents displayed negative attitudes towards suicidal patients. Some respondents reported returning to find a suicidal patient dead, while others reported patient attempts at suicide when in their care. Eighty per cent of respondents had no training in the management of suicidal patients, while only 7.0% had specific training in the Mental Health Care Act.ConclusionA critical lack in the knowledge, training and implementation of the Mental Health Care Act exists amongst prehospital providers within the Western Cape. A further concern is the negative feelings towards suicidal patients and the lack of commitment to transporting patients to definitive care. It is essential to urgently develop training programmes to ensure that prehospital providers are better equipped to deal with suicidal patients.

Nonspecific electrocardiographic abnormalities are associated with increased length of stay and adverse cardiac outcomes in prehospital chest pain

BackgroundNonspecific ST-T repolarization (NST) abnormalities alter the ST-segment for reasons often unrelated to acute myocardial ischemia, which could contribute to misdiagnosis or inappropriate treatment. We sought to define the prevalence of NST patterns in patients with chest pain and evaluate how such patterns correlate with the eventual etiology of chest pain and course of hospitalization. MethodsThis was a prospective observational study that included consecutive prehospital chest pain patients from three tertiary care hospitals in the U.S. Two independent reviewers blinded from clinical data audited the prehospital 12-lead ECG for the presence or absence of NST patterns (i.e., right or left bundle branch block, left ventricular hypertrophy with strain pattern, ventricular pacing, ventricular rhythm, or coarse atrial fibrillation). The primary outcome was 30-day major adverse cardiac events (MACE) defined as cardiac arrest, acute heart failure, post-discharge infarction, or all-cause death. ResultsThe final sample included 750 patients (age 59 ± 17, 58% males). A total of 40 patients (5.3%) experienced 30-MACE and 131 (17.5%) had NST patterns. The presence of NST patterns was an independent multivariate predictor of 30-day MACE (9.9% vs. 4.4%, OR = 2.2 [95% CI = 1.1–4.5]. Patients with NST patterns had increased median length of stay (1.0 [IQR 0.5–3] vs. 2.0 [IQR 1–4] days, p < 0.05) independent of the etiology of chest pain. ConclusionsOne in six prehospital ECGs of patients with chest pain has NST patterns. This pattern is associated with increased length of stay and adverse cardiac outcomes, suggesting the need of preventive measures and close follow up in such patients.

Resuscitation of Blunt Injured, Prehospital Arrest Trauma Patients: An Exercise in Futility

Tung, Lily MD; Leonard, Jennifer MD, PhD; Olson, Erik J. MD; Martin, Niels D. MD, FACS FCCM; Kim, Patrick K. MD, FACS; Reilly, Patrick M. MD, FACS; Seamon, Mark J. MD, FACS Author Information

Ketamine for Rapid Sedation of Agitated Patients in the Prehospital and Emergency Department Settings: A Systematic Review and Proportional Meta-Analysis

BackgroundRapid tranquilization of agitated patients can prevent injuries and expedite care. Whereas antipsychotics and benzodiazepines are commonly used for this purpose, ketamine has been suggested as an alternative. ObjectiveThe aim of this systematic review is to determine the safety and effectiveness of ketamine to sedate prehospital and emergency department (ED) patients with undifferentiated agitation. MethodsStudies and case series of patients receiving ketamine for agitation were included. Studies were excluded if ketamine was used for analgesia, procedural sedation, asthma, or induction. Information sources included traditional and gray literature. ResultsThe initial search yielded 1176 results from 14 databases. After review of titles and abstracts, 32 studies were reviewed and 18 were included in the analysis, representing 650 patient encounters. The mean dose of ketamine was 315 mg (SD 52) given intramuscularly, with adequate sedation achieved in 7.2 min (SD 6.2, range 2–500). Intubation occurred in 30.5% of patients (95% confidence interval [CI] 27.0–34.1%). In the majority of those patients, ketamine was administered by paramedics during ground transport and the patient was intubated on ED arrival. When ketamine was administered in the ED, the intubation rate was 1.8% (95% CI 0.0–4.4%); in air medical transport, the rate was 4.9% (95% CI 0.0–10.3%). Other reported side effects included: vomiting, 5.2% (2.3–8.1%); hypertension, 12.1% (5.7–18.6%); emergence reactions, 3.5% (1.4–5.6%); transient hypoxia, 1.8% (0.1–3.6%) and laryngospasm, 1.3% (0.3–2.3%). ConclusionsKetamine provides rapid sedation for undifferentiated agitated patients and is associated with higher intubation rates when used by ground Emergency Medical Services paramedics, compared with ED or air medical transport patients. Other side effects are common but usually self-limiting.

Diagnostic accuracy of prehospital electrocardiograms interpreted remotely by emergency physicians in myocardial infarction patients

BackgroundPrehospital 12‑lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is the most widely used screening tool for recognition of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, prehospital diagnosis of STEMI based solely on ECGs can be challenging. ObjectivesTo evaluate the ability of emergency department (ED) physicians to accurately interpret prehospital 12‑lead ECGs from a remote location. MethodsAll suspected prehospital STEMI patients who were transported by EMS and underwent angiography between 2006 and 2014 were included. We reviewed prehospital ECGs and grouped them based on: 1) presence or absence of a culprit artery lesion following angiography; and 2) whether they met the 3rd Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction. We also described characteristics of ECGs that were misinterpreted by ED physicians. ResultsA total of 625 suspected STEMI cases were reviewed. Following angiography, 94% (590/625) of patients were found having a culprit artery lesion, while 6% (35/625) did not. Among these 35 patients, 24 had ECGs that mimicked STEMI criteria and 9 had non-ischemic signs. Upon ECG reinterpretation, 92% (577/625) had standard STEMI criteria while 8% (48/625) did not. Among these 48 patients, 35 had ischemic signs ECGs and 13 did not. Characteristics of misinterpreted ECGs included pericarditis, early repolarization, STE > 1 mm (1‑lead only), and negative T-wave. ConclusionsRemote interpretation of prehospital 12‑lead ECGs by ED physicians was a useful diagnostic tool in this EMS system. Even if the rate of ECG misinterpretation is low, there is still room for ED physicians operating from a remote location to improve their ability to accurately diagnose STEMI patients.

The diagnostic value of pre-hospital arterial blood gas

Introduction: Arterial blood gas analysis (ABG) is an important diagnostic tool in management of critically ill patients within the hospital. It is unknown whether this diagnostic modality can contribute to a more exact diagnosis in a mixed population of critically ill pre-hospital patients. The aim of this study was to establish the diagnostic value of pre-hospital ABG by investigating whether more patients received specific tentative diagnosis (according to the WHO ICD-10) reducing the numbers of observational or symptomatic diagnosis (WHO ICD-10 classification chapters XVIII and XXI, respectively), when ABG was available pre-hospital.

Prehospital Invasive Arterial Pressure: Use of a Minimized Flush System

A mechanical, experimental model was used to create arterial pressure pulsations. Measurements were made simultaneously using a sIBP and mIBP device, respectively. This was repeated four times using different mean arterial pressure (MAP): 40, 70, 110, and 140mm Hg. For each series, 16 measurements were taken during 20 minutes. Data were analyzed using Bland-Altman plots. Measurement error greater than five percent was regarded as clinically significant. Mean bias and standard deviation (SD) for systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and MAP was -3.05 (SD = 2.07), 0.2 (SD = 0.48), and -0.3 (SD = 0.55) mmHg, respectively. Bland-Altman plots revealed that the bias and SD for systolic pressures was mainly due to an increased under-estimation of pressures in lower ranges. All MAP and 98.4% of diastolic pressure measurements had an error of less than five percent. Systolic pressures in the MAP 40 series all had an error of greater than five percent. All other systolic pressures had an error of less than five percent. Thus, IBP with the mIBP flush system provides accurate measurement of MAP and DBP in a wide range of physiological pressures. For SBP, there was a tendency to under-estimate pressures, with larger error in lower pressures. Implementation of a simplified flush system could allow further development and potentially simplify the use of IBP for prehospital critical care teams. KarlssonJ, LindeJ, SvensenC, GellerforsM. Prehospital invasive arterial pressure: use of a minimized flush system. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(5):490-494.

Prehospital treatment of patients with acute intracranial pathology: adherence to guidelines and blood pressure recommendations by the Danish Air Ambulance

BackgroundHypoxia and hypotension may be associated with secondary brain injury and negative outcomes in patients with traumatic and non-traumatic intracranial pathology. Guidelines exist only for the prehospital management of patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). In patients with non-traumatic intracranial pathology, TBI guideline recommendations may be applied to assess whether hypoxia and hypotension should be avoided during prehospital treatment. The main study objective was to assess the extent to which Danish Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) critical care teams adhere to the prehospital TBI guideline recommendations for the management of patients with a clinical diagnosis of non-traumatic intracranial pathology or isolated TBI. Furthermore, in the same two groups of patients, we evaluated the adherence of the Danish HEMS critical care teams to recommendations aiming to maintain systolic blood pressure (SBP) > 110 mmHg and > 120 mmHg.MethodsIn total, 211 prehospital patient records were studied. All patients were treated for non-traumatic intracranial pathology or isolated TBI by the Danish HEMS critical care teams from October 1, 2014, to January 1, 2017. Adherence to the prehospital TBI guideline recommendations and the SBP recommendations above was assessed in non-TBI and TBI populations.ResultsThe adherence rates to TBI guideline recommendations among Danish HEMS critical care teams were 69% (n = 106 [95% CI: 61–77%]) in the non-TBI population and 74% (n = 43 [95% CI: 61–85%]) in the TBI population. SBP > 110 mmHg was observed in 74% (n = 113 [95% CI: 66–81%]) and 69% (n = 40 [95% CI: 56–81%]) of cases in the non-TBI and TBI population, respectively. SBP > 120 mmHg was observed in 55% (n = 84, [95% CI: 47–63%]) of patients in the non-TBI population and 55% (n = 32 [95% CI: 42–68%]) of the patients in the TBI population.ConclusionsDue to a lack of comparative data, it is difficult to determine the performance quality of the Danish HEMS critical care teams. Our findings may suggest that adherence to TBI guidelines and SBP recommendations needs to be a continuous focal point for the Danish HEMS to avoid secondary brain damage.

Prehospital Tranexamic Acid Administration During Aeromedical Transport After Injury

BackgroundTranexamic acid (TXA) has been shown to reduce mortality in the treatment of traumatic hemorrhage. This effect seems most profound when given early after injury. We hypothesized that extending a protocol for TXA administration into the prehospital aeromedical setting would improve outcomes while maintaining a similar safety profile to TXA dosed in the emergency department (ED). Materials and methodsWe identified all trauma patients who received TXA during prehospital aeromedical transport or in the ED at our urban level I trauma center over an 18-mo period. These patients had been selected prospectively for TXA administration using a protocol that selected adult trauma patients with high-risk mechanism and concern for severe hemorrhage to receive TXA. Patient demographics, vital signs, lab values including thromboelastography, blood administration, mortality, and complications were reviewed retrospectively and analyzed. ResultsOne hundred sixteen patients were identified (62 prehospital versus 54 ED). Prehospital TXA patients were more likely to have sustained blunt injury (76% prehospital versus 46% ED, P = 0.002). There were no differences between groups in injury severity score or initial vital signs. There were no differences in complication rates or mortality. Patients receiving TXA had higher rates of venous thromboembolic events (8.1% in prehospital and 18.5% in ED) than the overall trauma population (2.1%, P < 0.001). ConclusionsPrehospital administration of TXA during aeromedical transport did not improve survival compared with ED administration. Treatment with TXA was associated with increased risk of venous thromboembolic events. Prehospital TXA protocols should be refined to identify patients with severe hemorrhagic shock or traumatic brain injury.