Air medical journal
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Air medical journal · Jan 2014
Comparative StudyIdentification of dynamic prehospital changes with continuous vital signs acquisition.
In most trauma registries, prehospital trauma data are often missing or unreliable because of the difficult dual task consigned to prehospital providers of recording vital signs and simultaneously resuscitating patients. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the analysis of continuous vital signs acquired automatically, without prehospital provider input, improves vital signs data quality, captures more extreme values that might be missed with conventional human data recording, and changes Trauma Injury Severity Scores compared with retrospectively compiled prehospital trauma registry data. ⋯ Real-time continuous vital signs monitoring and data acquisition can identify dynamic prehospital changes, which may be missed compared with vital signs recorded manually during distinct prehospital intervals. In the future, the use of automated vital signs trending may improve the quality of data reported for inclusion in trauma registries. These data may be used to develop improved triage algorithms aimed at optimizing resource use and enhancing patient outcomes.
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Air medical journal · Nov 2013
Assessing satisfaction and quality in the EMS/HEMS working relationship.
Treatment provided to critically ill and injured patients during air medical transport bridges initial local emergency medical service (EMS) treatment and the care provided upon arrival to the emergency department. Transition of care from EMS to air medical service includes multiple elements, many of which have been previously undefined. These include operational details surrounding the handoff and attention to issues of continuity in patient care. The purpose of this study is to pilot the development of survey instrumentation to measure key elements of quality in the interaction between EMS and air medical crews. ⋯ Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, a survey instrument was developed to assess satisfaction with HEMS care from the EMS provider's perspective. Evaluating the EMS perspective on the working relationship with HEMS is a new field of discovery for the air medical transport industry and process improvement activities.
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Air medical journal · Nov 2013
Activation intervals for a helicopter emergency medical service in Japan.
Prehospital time is crucial for treating acute disease; therefore, it is important to activate helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) promptly. We investigated the differences in the activation intervals (the time elapsed from receiving the emergency call to the time of HEMS request) under various conditions to evaluate the current status of HEMS-related prehospital triage in Japan. ⋯ Endogenous conditions had longer activation intervals, which may reflect a lack of mechanisms assessing their severity. We are considering developing new triage criteria for dispatchers.
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Air medical journal · Sep 2013
ReviewCommercial air travel after pneumothorax: a review of the literature.
Because of the physiological stresses of commercial air travel, the presence of a pneumothorax has long been felt to be an absolute contraindication to flight. Additionally, most medical societies recommend that patients wait at least 2 weeks after radiographic resolution of the pneumothorax before they attempt to travel in a nonurgent fashion via commercial air transport. ⋯ We have made recommendations, when possible, addressing the nonurgent commercial air travel for the patient with a recent pneumothorax. However, more scientific research is necessary in order to reach an evidence-based conclusion on pneumothoraces and flying.