Articles: emergency-medical-services.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Sep 2024
Is time to first CT scan in patients with isolated severe traumatic brain injury prolonged when prehospital arterial cannulation is performed? A retrospective non-inferiority study.
Invasive blood pressure measurement is the in-hospital gold standard to guide hemodynamic management and consecutively cerebral perfusion pressure in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Its prehospital use is controversial since it may delay further care. The primary aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that patients with severe traumatic brain injury who receive prehospital arterial cannulation, compared to those with in-hospital cannulation, do not have a prolonged time between on-scene arrival and first computed tomography (CT) of the head by more than ten minutes. ⋯ Time-interval between on-scene arrival and first head CT in patients with isolated severe traumatic brain injury who received prehospital arterial cannulation was not prolonged compared to those with in-hospital cannulation. This supports early out-of-hospital arterial cannulation performed by experienced providers.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Sep 2024
Observational StudyA standard operating procedure for prehospital anaesthesia and its effect on mortality-An observational study.
Prehospital anaesthesia is a complex intervention performed for critically ill patients. To minimise complications, a standard operating procedure (SOP) outlining the process is considered valuable. We investigated the implementation of an SOP for prehospital anaesthesia in helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS). ⋯ Implementation of an SOP for prehospital anaesthesia was associated with a trend towards lower 1-day mortality and an improved first-pass success but did not affect 30-day mortality. Despite this, we advocate prehospital systems to consider implementation of a prehospital anaesthesia SOP as immediate performance markers improved significantly.
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Prehospital blood gas analysis (BGA) is an evolving field that offers the potential for early identification and management of critically ill patients. However, the utility and accuracy of prehospital BGA are subjects of ongoing debate. ⋯ Prehospital BGA holds significant potential for enhancing patient care in the prehospital setting, though technical challenges need to be considered. However, further research is required to establish optimal indications and demonstrate the benefits for prehospital BGA in specific clinical contexts.
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Multicenter Study
Headpulse measurement can reliably identify large-vessel occlusion stroke in prehospital suspected stroke patients: Results from the EPISODE-PS-COVID study.
Large-vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke represents one-third of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in the United States but causes two-thirds of poststroke dependence and >90% of poststroke mortality. Prehospital LVO stroke detection permits efficient emergency medical systems (EMS) transport to an endovascular thrombectomy (EVT)-capable center. Our primary objective was to determine the feasibility of using a cranial accelerometry (CA) headset device for prehospital LVO stroke detection. Our secondary objective was development of an algorithm capable of distinguishing LVO stroke from other conditions. ⋯ Obtaining adequate recordings with a CA headset is highly feasible in the prehospital environment. Use of the device algorithm incorporating both CA and LAMS data for LVO detection resulted in significantly higher sensitivity without reduced specificity when compared to the use of LAMS alone.
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Patients with the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) are unstable and often experience rearrest, after which ROSC may be reattained. This study investigated the incidence and risk factors of post-ROSC events (rearrest and subsequent reattainment of ROSC) and their impact on outcomes in patients with prehospital ROSC following OHCA. ⋯ This study revealed population-based incidence and risk factors of post-ROSC events. Rearrest was common, leading to unfavourable neurological outcome; however, its deleterious impact may be mitigated by successful resuscitation efforts.