Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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The approach to managing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OOHCA) has generally involved either minimal on-scene resuscitation to reduce time to arrival at hospital or extended care at the scene to increase the chance of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) before transport. This study compared patient outcomes across EMS agencies with respect to the duration of on-scene time. We hypothesized that EMS agencies with greater average time on-scene would have more favorable outcomes. ⋯ This study suggests that HOSTAs have more favorable patient outcomes compared to LOSTAs. RESULTS indicate that spending more time on-scene performing resuscitation is associated with higher rates of ROSC, survival and survival with good neurologic function.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
New Immobilization Guidelines Change EMS Critical Thinking in Older Adults With Spine Trauma.
The impact of immobilization techniques on older adult trauma patients with spinal injury has rarely been studied. Our advisory group implemented a change in the immobilization protocol used by emergency medical services (EMS) professionals across a region encompassing 9 trauma centers and 24 EMS agencies in a Rocky Mountain state using a decentralized process on July 1, 2014. We sought to determine whether implementing the protocol would alter immobilization methods and affect patient outcomes among adults ≥60 years with a cervical spine injury. ⋯ There were no differences in neurologic deficit or patient disposition in the older adult patient with cervical spine trauma despite changes in spinal restriction protocols and resulting differences in immobilization devices.
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To assess the accuracy of multiple Intravenous Infusion Flow Regulators (IIFRs) at infusion rates and hanging heights common to the prehospital setting. ⋯ Significant deviations from expected IIFR volume were observed across all devices, flow rates, and heights in a static, laboratory environment. These findings would lend caution to the use of IIFRs as they could lead to inaccurate medication dosing (both over- or under-dosing) in the prehospital environment.
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Conducting out-of-hospital research is unique and challenging and requires tracking patients across multiple phases of care, using multiple sources of patient records and multiple hospitals. The logistics and strategies used for out-of-hospital research are distinct from other forms of clinical research. ⋯ In this study, we describe seven key aspects of designing and implementing out-of-hospital research in the era of EHRs: (1) selection of research sites, (2) defining the patient population, (3) patient sampling and sample size calculations, (4) EMS data, (5) hospital selection, (6) handling missing data, and (7) statistical analysis. We use examples from a recent prospective out-of-hospital cohort study to illustrate these topics, including lessons learned.
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Previous studies have evaluated prehospital analgesia during combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, but were limited to the adult population. However, a significant portion of the casualties of those conflicts were children. We describe the prehospital analgesia administered to wartime pediatric trauma patients. ⋯ Overall, a low proportion of pediatric trauma subjects within this population received analgesia in the prehospital environment. The most common analgesic medication administered was morphine. Those receiving analgesic agents had more severe injuries and higher rates of concomitant interventions. These results highlight the potential need for Tactical Combat Casualty Care guidelines specifically providing recommendations for analgesia administration among pediatric patients.