European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Observational Study
Key performance indicators' assessment to develop best practices in an Emergency Medical Communication Centre.
Emergency Medical Communication Centre (EMCC) represents a pivotal link in the chain of survival for those requiring rapid response for out-of-hospital medical emergencies. Assessing and grading the performance of EMCCs are warranted as it can affect the health and safety of the served population. ⋯ The occupation rate appeared to be the most important factor contributing towards the QS20. Our data will be useful to develop best practices and guidelines in the field of emergency medicine communication centres.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Partial occlusion, conversion from thoracotomy, undelayed but shorter occlusion: resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta strategy in Japan.
Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) is a viable alternative to resuscitative thoracotomy (RT) in refractory hemorrhagic patients. We evaluated REBOA strategies using Japanese multi-institutional data. ⋯ Partial occlusion was performed in 70% of patients. Undelayed deployment of REBOA without presenting impending cardiac arrest with shorter balloon occlusion (<30 min at zone I with partial occlusion) might be related to successful hemodynamic stabilization and improved survival. Further evaluation should be performed prospectively.
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Ambulance transfer is the first contact with the healthcare system for many patients in emergency conditions.We aimed to identify prognostic risk factors accessible in the prehospital phase that indicate an increased risk of 7-day mortality. ⋯ The overall 7-day mortality was 5.3%, but differed in the two subgroups, with 15.4% in the MECU-assisted ambulance transfers and 3.8% in non-MECU-assisted transfers. Older age and Glasgow Coma Scores below 14 were the strongest of factors associated significantly with 7-day mortality.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
The superiority of the two-thumb over the two-finger technique for single-rescuer infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
The two-finger technique (TFT) using the index-middle fingers of the right hand (TFT-R23) was recently confirmed to produce deeper chest compression depth (CCD) compared with the TFT using any other fingers. This study was carried out to confirm whether the TFT-R23 would be as effective as the two-thumb technique (TTT). In addition, individual finger strengths were measured to identify the reasons why the TTT and TFT-R23 produced deeper CCD than any other methods. ⋯ The TTT produced deeper CCD compared with that of the TFT-R23 because the finger strength of the TTT was significantly higher than that of the TFT-R23.
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Observational Study
Traumatic brain injury in the Netherlands, trends in emergency department visits, hospitalization and mortality between 1998 and 2012.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The effects of epidemiological changes such as ageing of the population and increased traffic safety on the incidence of TBI are unknown. ⋯ The incidence of TBI-related ED visits and hospitalization increased markedly between 1998 and 2012 in the Netherlands. TBI-related mortality occurred at an older age. These observations are probably the result of a change in aetiology of TBI, specifically a decrease in traffic accidents and an increase in falls in the ageing population. This hypothesis is supported by our data. However, ageing of the population is not the only cause of the changes observed; the observed changes remained significant when correcting for age and sex. The higher incidence of TBI with a relatively stable mortality rate highlights the importance of clinical decision rules to identify patients with a high risk of poor outcome after TBI.