Prehospital and disaster medicine
-
Prehosp Disaster Med · Jul 2008
Is there one optimal medical treatment and evacuation chain for all situations: "scoop-and-run" or "stay-and-play".
In 2006, the Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands initiated a targeted agenda program for the World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine in Amsterdam in 2007 (15WCDEM). The issue to be discussed was if there is one "golden" treatment and evacuation system that is applicable for different military and civilian situations. And, if there is not such a system, which parameters are important to construct the most optimal system for each different situation. ⋯ Lessons learned from the military system are relevant for the civilian emergency medical services and vice-versa. The World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine can be an important platform to share and exchange information between these two systems. The target of the platform should be to obtain a generic picture of the important elements in prehospital emergency medical care.
-
Prehosp Disaster Med · Jul 2008
Accuracy of computer simulation to predict patient flow during mass-casualty incidents.
Although most hospitals have an emergency department disaster plan, most never have been implemented in a true disaster or been tested objectively. Computer simulation may be a useful tool to predict emergency department patient flow during a disaster. ⋯ Computer simulation is helpful in defining the effects of changes to a hospital disaster plan. However, it cannot fully replace participant exercises. Rather, computer simulation and live exercises are complementary, and both may be useful for disaster plan evaluation.
-
Prehosp Disaster Med · Jul 2008
Primary triage, evacuation priorities, and rapid primary distribution between adjacent hospitals--lessons learned from a suicide bomber attack in downtown Tel-Aviv.
Terrorist attacks have occurred in Tel-Aviv that have caused mass-casualties. The objective of this study was to draw lessons from the medical response to an event that occurred on 19 January 2006, near the central bus station, Tel-Aviv, Israel. The lessons pertain to the management of primary triage, evacuation priorities, and rapid primary distribution between adjacent hospitals and the operational mode of the participating hospitals during the event. ⋯ When a mass-casualty incident occurs in the vicinity of more than one hospital, primary triage, evacuation priority decision-making, and rapid distribution of casualties between all of the adjacent hospitals enables efficient and effective containment of the event.
-
The main goal of this targeted agenda program (TAP) was the establishment of an international network that would be able to advise on how to improve education and training for chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN)) responders. By combining the members of the TAP group, the CBRN Task Force of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM) and the European network of the Hesculaep Group, an enthusiastic and determined group has been established to achieve the defined goal. It was acknowledged that the bottlenecks for education and training for CBRN responders are mainly awareness and preparedness. ⋯ It was advised that the focus for the future should be on the development of internationally standardized protocols and standards. The face-to-face discussions of the TAP will be continued at future Hesculaep expert meetings. The intention is that during the 16WCDEM, the achievements of the established network will be presented.
-
Prehosp Disaster Med · Jul 2008
The health impacts of climate change: getting started on a new theme.
Climate change is widely acknowledged as a key global challenge for the 21st century, and is projected to significantly affect population health and human well-being. All of the climate change-related changes in weather patterns will affect human health, from boosting mental well-being to mortality from large-scale disasters. ⋯ To effectively prepare for and cope with climate change impacts, public health must move from a focus on surveillance and response to a greater emphasis on prediction and prevention. The targeted agenda program dialogue identified three priorities for climate change related health actions: heat waves, vector-borne diseases; and malnutrition.