Scand J Trauma Resus
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Scand J Trauma Resus · May 2018
Emergency management of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction in Eastern Austria: a descriptive quality control study.
Myocardial infarction is a time-critical condition and its outcome is determined by appropriate emergency care. Thus we assessed the efficacy of a supra-regional ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) network in Easternern Austria. ⋯ In conclusion, results from the Eastern Austrian STEMI network shed light on the necessity of increasing patient awareness in order to minimize any time loss derived by delayed EMS calls. Involvement of family physicians resulted in prolonged FMCBT. A stronger utilization of rescue helicopters could further improve the efficacy of this supra-regional network. Nevertheless PPCI rates, time intervals and outcome rates compare well with international benchmarks.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · May 2018
Comparative StudyApples to apples: can differences in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest incidence and outcomes between Sweden and Ireland be explained by core Utstein variables?
Variation in reported incidence and outcome based on aggregated data is a persistent feature of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) epidemiology. ⋯ Using patient level data, a proportion of inter-country variation was explained, but substantial variation was not explained by the core Utstein variables. Researchers and policy makers should be aware of the potential for unmeasured differences when comparing OHCA incidence and outcomes between countries.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Apr 2018
Letter Observational StudyImplementation of a mechanical CPR device in a physician staffed HEMS - a prospective observational study.
In this prospective, observational study we describe the incidence and characteristics of out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) cases who received mechanical CPR, after the implementation of a mechanical CPR device (LUCAS 2; Physio Control, Redmond, WA, USA) in a physician staffed helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) in South Tyrol, Italy. During the study period (06/2013-04/2016), 525 OHCA cases were registered by the dispatch centre, 271 (51.6%) were assisted by HEMS. LUCAS 2 was applied in 18 (6.6%) of all HEMS-assisted OHCA patients; ten were treated with LUCAS 2 at the scene only, and eight were transported to hospital with ongoing CPR. ⋯ Retrospectively, all HEMS-assisted OHCA cases were screened for proposed indication criteria for prolonged CPR. Thirteen patients fulfilled these criteria, but only two of them were transported to hospital. Based on these results, we propose a standard operating procedure for HEMS-assisted patients with refractory OHCA in a region without hospitals with ECLS capacity.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Apr 2018
Multicenter StudyTemporal phenotyping of circulating microparticles after trauma: a prospective cohort study.
After severe polytrauma the dynamic process of coagulation may deteriorate towards a trauma-induced coagulopathy (TIC) promoting a dramatic increase in morbidity and mortality. Recent evidence suggests that microparticles (MPs) play a pivotal role at the interface between cellular and plasmatic coagulation systems. However, the impact of MPs on functional coagulation has not been clarified yet in the setting of traumatic injuries. We assessed the temporal patterns of circulating MP concentrations including their cellular origin in the context of clinical presentation and global coagulation assays. ⋯ In conclusion, this study could demonstrate that PDMP and EDMP levels increase significantly following polytrauma correlating with injury severity. Although severe coagulopathy was not observed, EDMP levels were associated with improved coagulation parameters suggesting their essential role for regulating blood coagulation after trauma.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Apr 2018
Multicenter StudyThe epidemiology of mild traumatic brain injury: the Trondheim MTBI follow-up study.
Mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) is a frequent medical condition, and some patients report long-lasting problems after MTBI. In order to prevent MTBI, knowledge of the epidemiology is important and potential bias in studies should be explored. Aims of this study were to describe the epidemiological characteristics of MTBI in a Norwegian area and to evaluate the representativeness of patients successfully enrolled in the Trondheim MTBI follow-up study. ⋯ Two thirds of all patients with MTBI in the 16-60 age group were treated without hospital admission, patients were often young, and half of the patients presented during the weekend. Fall was the most common cause of injury, and patients were commonly injured under the influence of alcohol, which needs to be addressed when considering strategies for prevention. The Trondheim MTBI follow-up study comprised patients who were highly representative for the underlying epidemiology of MTBI.