Scand J Trauma Resus
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Aug 2021
Collaboration between emergency physicians and citizen responders in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest resuscitation.
Citizen responder programmes dispatch volunteer citizens to initiate resuscitation in nearby out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) before the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arrival. Little is known about the interaction between citizen responders and EMS personnel during the resuscitation attempt. In the Capital Region of Denmark, emergency physicians are dispatched to all suspected OHCAs. The aim of this study was to evaluate how emergency physicians perceived the collaboration with citizen responders during resuscitation attempts. ⋯ Emergency physicians perceived the collaboration with citizen responders as valuable, not only for delivery of CPR, but were also considered an extra helpful resource providing non-CPR related tasks such as directing the EMS to the arrest location, carrying equipment and taking care of relatives.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Aug 2021
LetterAn Approved Landing Site (ALS) improves the logistics of interhospital transfer of critically ill patients by helicopter.
The COVID-19 pandemic limited hospital resources and necessitated interhospital transport of ICU-patients in order to provide critical care to all patients in the Netherlands. However, not all hospitals have an approved landing site. The ICU-transport operation was executed under HEMS-license and landing on non-aerodrome terrain was permitted. ⋯ Only 11 patients required secondary transport to or from the helicopter landings site. This occurred only in two patients from a heliport to a receiving hospital. The construction of pre-explored approved landing sites in the vicinity of hospitals allows safe transportation of patients by helicopter to hospitals without a heliport.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Jul 2021
Case ReportsThe way to a man's heart is through his stomach: a case of myocardial infarction mimic and pseudo-tamponade in a polytrauma patient.
There exists a therapeutic conflict between haemorrhage control and prevention of thromboembolic events following polytrauma and complications are not uncommon. Such opposing therapies can result in unexpected pathophysiology and there is a real risk of misdiagnosis resulting in harm. This case presents a previously unreported complication of prevention and management of thromboembolism- STEMI (ST elevation myocardial infarction) and tamponade mimic secondary to retroperitoneal haematoma. ⋯ This manuscript highlights the therapeutic conflict between haemorrhage control and prevention of thromboembolic events in critically injured, the importance of high index of suspicion in this patient cohort and the benefits of multidisciplinary decision making in the complex patient through a not previously published pathophysiologic phenomenon.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Jul 2021
Evaluating a training intervention for improving alignment between emergency medical telephone operators and callers: a pilot study of communication behaviours.
Calls to emergency medical lines are an essential component in the chain of survival. Operators make critical decisions based on information they elicit from callers. Although smooth cooperation is necessary, the field lacks evidence-based guidelines for how to achieve it while adhering to strict parameters of index-driven questioning. We aimed to evaluate the effect of a training intervention for emergency medical operators at a call centre in Tønsberg, Norway. The course was designed to enhance operators' communication skills for smoothing cooperation with callers. ⋯ This pilot study demonstrated that the training intervention generated behavioural change in these operators, providing justification for scaling up the intervention.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Jul 2021
The role of cervical collars and verbal instructions in minimising spinal movement during self-extrication following a motor vehicle collision - a biomechanical study using healthy volunteers.
Motor vehicle collisions account for 1.3 million deaths and 50 million serious injuries worldwide each year. However, the majority of people involved in such incidents are uninjured or have injuries which do not prevent them exiting the vehicle. Self-extrication is the process by which a casualty is instructed to leave their vehicle and completes this with minimal or no assistance. Self-extrication may offer a number of patient and system-wide benefits. The efficacy of routine cervical collar application for this group is unclear and previous studies have demonstrated inconsistent results. It is unknown whether scripted instructions given to casualties on how to exit the vehicle would offer any additional utility. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of cervical collars and instructions on spinal movements during self-extrication from a vehicle, using novel motion tracking technology. ⋯ Across all participants, the most frequently occurring extrication method associated with the least movement was no instructions, with a cervical collar in situ.