Scand J Trauma Resus
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The purpose of the trauma team is to provide advanced simultaneous care from relevant specialists to the seriously injured trauma patient. When functioning well, the outcome of the trauma team performance should be greater than the sum of its parts. Trauma teams have been shown to reduce the time taken for resuscitation, as well as time to CT scan, to emergency department discharge and to the operating room. ⋯ Trauma teams are a key component of most programmes which set out to improve trauma care. This article reviews the background of trauma teams, the evidence for benefit and potential techniques of performance assessment. The review was written after a PubMed, Ovid, Athens, Cochrane and guideline literature review of English language articles on trauma teams and their performance and hand searching of references from the relevant searched articles.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Nov 2010
ReviewThe contemporary role of blood products and components used in trauma resuscitation.
There is renewed interest in blood product use for resuscitation stimulated by recent military experience and growing recognition of the limitations of large-volume crystalloid resuscitation. ⋯ In patients requiring large volumes of blood products or displaying coagulopathy after injury, it appears that early and aggressive administration of blood component therapy may actually reduce the aggregate amount of blood required. If recombinant factor VIIa is given, it should be utilized in the fully resuscitated patient. Thrombelastography is seeing increased application for real-time assessment of coagulation changes after injury and directed replacement of components of the clotting mechanism.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Nov 2010
Review Comparative StudyIs advanced life support better than basic life support in prehospital care? A systematic review.
Prehospital care is classified into ALS- (advanced life support) and BLS- (basic life support) levels according to the methods used. ALS-level prehospital care uses invasive methods, such as intravenous fluids, medications and intubation. However, the effectiveness of ALS care compared to BLS has been questionable. ⋯ ALS seems to improve survival in patients with myocardial infarction and BLS seems to be the proper level of care for patients with penetrating injuries. Some studies indicate a beneficial effect of ALS among patients with blunt head injuries or multiple injuries. There is also some evidence in favour of ALS among patients with epileptic seizures as well as those with a respiratory distress.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Nov 2010
Randomized Controlled TrialPrehospital randomised assessment of a mechanical compression device in cardiac arrest (PaRAMeDIC) trial protocol.
Survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is closely linked to the quality of CPR, but in real life, resuscitation during prehospital care and ambulance transport is often suboptimal. Mechanical chest compression devices deliver consistent chest compressions, are not prone to fatigue and could potentially overcome some of the limitations of manual chest compression. However, there is no high-quality evidence that they improve clinical outcomes, or that they are cost effective. The Prehospital Randomised Assessment of a Mechanical Compression Device In Cardiac Arrest (PARAMEDIC) trial is a pragmatic cluster randomised study of the LUCAS-2 device in adult patients with non-traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. ⋯ The trial will assess the clinical and cost effectiveness of the LUCAS-2 mechanical chest compression device.