Prehospital and disaster medicine
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Feb 2015
An evaluation of trauma outcomes related to insurance status in patients requiring prehospital helicopter transport.
Disparities in access to medical care and outcomes of medical treatment related to insurance status are documented. However, little attention has been given to the effect of health care funding status on outcomes in trauma patients. Hypothesis/Problem This study evaluated if adult trauma patients who arrived by air transport to a trauma center had different clinical outcomes based on their health insurance status. ⋯ Unfunded health insurance status is associated with worse outcomes following less significant injury. Further investigation of baseline health disparities for identification and early intervention may improve outcomes. Additionally, these findings may have implications for the health systems of other countries that lack universal health care coverage.
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Gaining vascular access is essential in the resuscitation of critically ill patients. Intraosseous (IO) placement is a fundamentally important alternative to intravenous (IV) access in conditions where IV access delays resuscitation or is not possible. ⋯ Infusion of large amounts of fluid into the joint space could damage the joint and be catastrophic to a patient who needs immediate IV fluids or medications. In addition, intra-articular IO placement could result in septic arthritis of the knee.
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Feb 2015
Professionalization of anesthesiologists and critical care specialists in humanitarian action: a nationwide poll among italian residents.
Over the last decades, humanitarian crises have seen a sharp upward trend. Regrettably, physicians involved in humanitarian action have often demonstrated incomplete preparation for these compelling events which have proved to be quite different from their daily work. Responders to these crises have included an unpredictable mix of beginner-level, mid-level, and expert-level providers. The quality of care has varied considerably. The international humanitarian community, in responding to international calls for improved accountability, transparency, coordination, and a registry of professionalized international responders, has recently launched a call for further professionalization within the humanitarian assistance sector, especially among academic-affiliated education and training programs. As anesthetists have been involved traditionally in medical relief operations, and recent disasters have seen a massive engagement of young physicians, the authors conducted, as a first step, a poll among residents in Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine in Italy to evaluate their interest in participating in competency-based humanitarian assistance education and in training incorporated early in residencies. ⋯ In Italy, the majority of anesthesia/critical care residents, through a formal poll study, affirmed interest in participating in humanitarian assistance missions and believe that further professionalization within the humanitarian aid sector is required. These results have implications for residency training programs worldwide.
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Feb 2015
A Simple Graphical Method for Quantification of Disaster Management Surge Capacity Using Computer Simulation and Process-control Tools.
Surge capacity, or the ability to manage an extraordinary volume of patients, is fundamental for hospital management of mass-casualty incidents. However, quantification of surge capacity is difficult and no universal standard for its measurement has emerged, nor has a standardized statistical method been advocated. As mass-casualty incidents are rare, simulation may represent a viable alternative to measure surge capacity. Hypothesis/Problem The objective of the current study was to develop a statistical method for the quantification of surge capacity using a combination of computer simulation and simple process-control statistical tools. Length-of-stay (LOS) and patient volume (PV) were used as metrics. The use of this method was then demonstrated on a subsequent computer simulation of an emergency department (ED) response to a mass-casualty incident. ⋯ This study demonstrates how simulation software can be used to derive values for objective benchmarks of ED surge capacity using PV and LOS metrics. These objective metrics can then be applied to other simulation groups using simple graphical process-control tools to provide a numeric measure of surge capacity. Repeated use in simulations of actual EDs may represent a potential means of objectively quantifying disaster management surge capacity. It is hoped that the described statistical method, which is simple and reusable, will be useful for investigators in this field to apply to their own research.
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Feb 2015
Do you see what I see? Insights from using google glass for disaster telemedicine triage.
Disasters are high-stakes, low-frequency events. Telemedicine may offer a useful adjunct for paramedics performing disaster triage. The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of telemedicine in disaster triage, and to determine whether telemedicine has an effect on the accuracy of triage or the time needed to perform triage. ⋯ There was no increase in triage accuracy when paramedics evaluating disaster victims used telemedicine, and telemedicine required more time than conventional triage. There are a number of obstacles to available technology that, if overcome, might improve the utility of telemedicine in disaster response.