Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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Observational Study
Comparing the Accuracy of Mass Casualty Triage Systems When Used in an Adult Population.
Objective: To use a previously published criterion standard to compare the accuracy of 4 different mass casualty triage systems (Sort, Assess, Lifesaving Interventions, Treatment/Transport [SALT], Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment [START], Triage Sieve, and CareFlight) when used in an emergency department-based adult population. Methods: We performed a prospective, observational study of a convenience sample of adults aged 18 years or older presenting to a single tertiary care hospital emergency department. A co-investigator with prior emergency medical services (EMS) experience observed each subject's initial triage in the emergency department and recorded all data points necessary to assign a triage category using each of the 4 mass casualty triage systems being studied. ⋯ SALT had the highest over-triage rate (22%; 95% CI 14-29) compared to START (7%; 95% CI 3-12), CareFlight (6%; 95% CI 2-11) and TriageSieve (6%; 95% CI 2-11). Conclusion: We found that SALT triage most often correctly triaged adult emergency department patients when compared to a previously published criterion standard. While there are no target under- and over-triage rates that have been published for mass casualty triage, all 4 systems had relatively high rates of under-triage.
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Background: The American Heart Association recommends acquiring and interpreting prehospital electrocardiograms (ECG) for patients transported by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to the emergency department with symptoms highly suspicious of acute coronary syndrome. If interpreted correctly, prehospital ECGs have the potential to improve early detection of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and inform prehospital activation of the cardiac catheterization laboratory, thus reducing total ischemic time and improving patient outcomes. Standardized protocols for prehospital ECG interpretation methods are lacking due to variations in EMS system design, training, and procedures. ⋯ All EMS systems had some paid versus non-paid EMS personnel and the majority (86%) had both basic and advanced life support capabilities. Conclusions: Most NC EMS systems had a paramedic only ECG interpretation or paramedic in combination with a computerized algorithm approach. Very few used a physician read approach following transmission, even in rural service areas.
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Background: Mass-casualty incidents (MCIs) are catastrophic. Whether they arise from natural or man-made disasters, the nature of such incidents and the multiple casualties involved can rapidly overwhelm response personnel. Mass-casualty triage training is traditionally taught via either didactic lectures or table top exercises. ⋯ Cost of running the VR came to AUD $712.04 (staff time), compared to the live simulations which came to AUD $9,413.71 (staff time, moulage, actors, director, prop vehicle), approximately 13 times more expensive. Conclusion: The VR simulation provided near identical simulation efficacy for paramedicine students compared to the live simulation. VR MCI training resources represent an exciting new direction for authentic and cost-effective education and training for medical professionals.
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Background: Chest pain is a leading complaint in emergency settings. Timely emergency medical services (EMS) responses can reduce delays to treatment and improve clinical outcomes for acute myocardial infarction patients and other medical emergencies. We investigated national-level EMS response, scene, and transport times for acute chest pain patients in the United States. ⋯ Regional and urban-rural differences were observed in adherence with the response time benchmark. Our findings also suggest age and gender disparities in on-scene delays by EMS. Our study contributes important evidence on timely EMS responses for cardiac chest pain and provides suggestions for EMS system benchmarking and quality improvement.
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Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association between coronary angiography (CAG) with and without percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and neurological recovery and to determine the influence of primary electrocardiogram or patient age on the effects of CAG. Methods: Adult patients with OHCA with cardiac etiology who were admitted to PCI-capable hospitals from 2016 to 2017 were enrolled in this study from the nationwide OHCA registry of Korea. Coronary intervention was categorized into three groups: No CAG, CAG without PCI, and CAG with PCI. ⋯ Interaction analysis showed that although the effect size differed according to patient characteristics, both CAG groups were associated with an increased likelihood of good neurological recovery, regardless of primary electrocardiogram and age group. In younger patients, CAG with PCI had greater outcome benefits than CAG without PCI (8.54 [4.31-16.95] vs. 4.10 [2.69-6.24]), whereas CAG without PCI had a larger effect size than CAG with PCI in elderly patients (4.46 [2.59-7.68] vs. 2.92 [1.80-4.73]) (p value for interaction 0.02). Conclusions: Post-resuscitation CAG with and without PCI are associated with better neurological recovery in patients with OHCA, regardless of primary electrocardiogram and patient age.