Scand J Trauma Resus
-
Scand J Trauma Resus · Jan 2009
Precision of field triage in patients brought to a trauma centre after introducing trauma team activation guidelines.
Field triage is important for regional trauma systems providing high sensitivity to avoid that severely injured are deprived access to trauma team resuscitation (undertriage), yet high specificity to avoid resource over-utilization (overtriage). Previous informal trauma team activation (TTA) at Ulleval University Hospital (UUH) caused imprecise triage. We have analyzed triage precision after introduction of TTA guidelines. ⋯ Triage precision had not improved after TTA guideline introduction. Anaesthetists perform precise trauma triage, whereas paramedics have potential for improvement. Skewed mission profiles makes comparison of differences in triage precision difficult, but criteria or the use of them may contribute. Massive undertriage among paramedics is of grave concern as patients exposed to undertriage had increased risk of dying.
-
Scand J Trauma Resus · Jan 2009
ReviewOut-of-hospital therapeutic hypothermia in cardiac arrest victims.
Despite many years of research, outcome after cardiac arrest is dismal. Since 2005, the European Resuscitation Council recommends in its guidelines the use of mild therapeutic hypothermia (32-34 degrees) for 12 to 24 hours in patients successfully resuscitated from cardiac arrest. The benefit of resuscitative mild hypothermia (induced after resuscitation) is well established, while the benefit of preservative mild to moderate hypothermia (induced during cardiac arrest) needs further investigation before recommending it for clinical routine. ⋯ Out-of-hospital cooling has been shown to be feasible and safe by means of intravenous infusion with cold fluids or non-invasively with cooling pads. A combination of these cooling methods might further improve cooling efficacy. If out-of-hospital cooling will further improve functional outcome as compared with in-hospital cooling needs to be determined in a prospective, randomised, sufficiently powered clinical trial.
-
Coagulation complications are significant contributors to morbidity and mortality in trauma patients. Although the lethal triad of hypothermia, acidosis and coagulopathy has been recognized for over a decade, the underlying mechanisms related to the development of coagulopathy remain unclear. Recent data suggest that decreased fibrinogen levels contribute to the development of coagulation disorders. ⋯ Trauma alters fibrinogen metabolism in a variety of ways: hemorrhage - accelerated fibrinogen breakdown; hypothermia - inhibited fibrinogen synthesis; and, acidosis - accelerated fibrinogen breakdown. However, hemorrhage, hypothermia andcidosis all result in a consistent outcome of fibrinogen availability deficit, supporting the notion of fibrinogen supplementation in trauma patients with coagulation defects. Future prospective clinical trials are needed to confirm the beneficial effects of fibrinogen supplementation in trauma patients with bleeding complications.
-
Scand J Trauma Resus · Jan 2009
A consensus-based template for uniform reporting of data from pre-hospital advanced airway management.
Advanced airway management is a critical intervention that can harm the patient if performed poorly. The available literature on this subject is rich, but it is difficult to interpret due to a huge variability and poor definitions. Several initiatives from large organisations concerned with airway management have recently propagated the need for guidelines and standards in pre-hospital airway management. Following the path of other initiatives to establish templates for uniform data reporting, like the many Utstein-style templates, we initiated and carried out a structured consensus process with international experts to establish a set of core data points to be documented and reported in cases of advanced pre-hospital airway management. ⋯ We successfully developed an Utstein-style template for documenting and reporting pre-hospital airway management. The core dataset for this template should be included in future studies on pre-hospital airway management to produce comparable data across systems and patient populations and will be implemented in systems that are influenced by the expert panel.
-
Scand J Trauma Resus · Jan 2009
Low central venous saturation predicts poor outcome in patients with brain injury after major trauma: a prospective observational study.
Continuous monitoring of central venous oxygen saturation (ScvO2) has been proposed as a prognostic indicator in several pathological conditions, including cardiac diseases, sepsis, trauma. To our knowledge, no studies have evaluated ScvO2 in polytraumatized patients with brain injury so far. Thus, the aim of the present study was to assess the prognostic role of ScvO2 monitoring during first 24 hours after trauma in this patients' population. ⋯ ScvO2 value less than 65%, measured in the first 24 hours after admission in patients with major trauma and head injury, was associated with higher mortality and prolonged hospitalization.