[Preclinical prediction of prehospital injury severity by emergency physicians : approach to evaluate validity]

Pre-hospital tranexamic acid administration in patients with a severe hemorrhage: an evaluation after the implementation of tranexamic acid administration in the Dutch pre-hospital protocol

PURPOSE

To evaluate the pre-hospital administration of tranexamic acid in ambulance-treated trauma patients with a severe hemorrhage after the implementation of tranexamic acid administration in the Dutch pre-hospital protocol.

METHODS

All patients with a severe hemorrhage who were treated and conveyed by EMS professionals between January 2015, and December 2017, to any trauma-receiving emergency department in the eight participating trauma regions in the Netherlands, were included. A severe hemorrhage was defined as extracranial injury with > 20% body volume blood loss, an extremity amputation above the wrist or ankle, or a grade ≥ 4 visceral organ injury. The main outcome was to determine the proportion of patients with a severe hemorrhage who received pre-hospital treatment with tranexamic acid. A Generalized Linear Model (GLM) was performed to investigate the relationship between pre-hospital tranexamic acid treatment and 24 h mortality.

RESULTS

A total of 477 patients had a severe hemorrhage, of whom 124 patients (26.0%) received tranexamic acid before arriving at the hospital. More than half (58.4%) of the untreated patients were suspected of a severe hemorrhage by EMS professionals. Patients treated with tranexamic acid had a significantly lower risk on 24 h mortality than untreated patients (OR 0.43 [95% CI 0.19-0.97]).

CONCLUSION

Approximately a quarter of the patients with a severe hemorrhage received tranexamic acid before arriving at the hospital, while a severe hemorrhage was suspected in more than half of the non-treated patients. Severely hemorrhaging patients treated with tranexamic acid before arrival at the hospital had a lower risk to die within 24 h after injury.

[Implications of prehospital estimation of trauma patients for the treatment pathway-An evaluation of the TraumaRegister DGU®]

BACKGROUND

In the prehospital acute treatment phase of severely injured patients, the stabilization of the vital parameters is paramount. The rapid and precise assessment of the injuries by the emergency physician is crucial for the initial treatment and the selection of the receiving hospital.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to determine whether the prehospital emergency medical assessment has an influence on prehospital and emergency room treatment.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Data from the TraumaRegister DGU® between 2015 and 2019 in Germany were evaluated. The prehospital emergency medical assessment of the injury pattern and severity was recorded using the emergency physician protocol and compared with the in-hospital documented diagnoses using the abbreviated injury scale.

RESULTS

A total of 47,838 patients with an average injury severity score (ISS) of 18,7 points (SD 12.3) were included. In summary, 127,739 injured body regions were documented in the hospitals. Of these, a total of 87,921 were correctly suspected by the emergency physician Thus, 39,818 injured body regions were not properly documented. In 42,530 cases a region of the body was suspected to be injured without the suspicion being confirmed in the hospital. Traumatic brain injuries and facial injuries were mostly overdiagnosed (13.5% and 14.7%, respectively documented by an emergency physician while the diagnosis was not confirmed in-hospital). Chest injuries were underdocumented (17.3% missed by an emergency physician while the diagnosis was finally confirmed in-hospital). The total mortality of all groups was very close to the expected mortality calculated with the revised injury severity classification II(RISC II)-score (12.0% vs. 11.3%).

CONCLUSION

In the prehospital care of severely injured patients, the overall injury severity is often correctly recorded by the emergency physician and correlates well with the derived treatment, the selection of the receiving hospital as well as the clinical course and the patient outcome; however, the assessment of injuries of individual body regions seems to be challenging in the prehospital setting.

Diagnostic value of abdominal follow-up sonography in polytrauma patients: A retrospective study

In many German trauma centres, it is routine to perform abdominal follow-up sonography (AFS) 6 h after admission for patients with multiple trauma, even if the clinical course is uneventful and multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) reveals no abdominal pathology. However, this approach is not recommended in the German Guidelines for trauma, and recent studies have questioned the value of AFS to these patients. The present study aimed to evaluate the revised German Guidelines for trauma with respect to the omission of AFS.We included patients with multiple injuries with no clinical signs of abdominal trauma and with normal abdominal MSCT. We collected clinical data of 370 consecutive patients who underwent AFS (Group A) and another 370 consecutive patients who did not undergo AFS (Group B).No abdominal injury was missed by the omission of AFS, and thus, no patient suffered from its omission or benefitted from the use of AFS. In our study population, the negative predictive value of normal MSCT results combined with no clinical signs of abdominal trauma was 100% (95% confidence interval: 99.5%-100.0%).This single-centre study conducted in a large German trauma centre demonstrates AFS to have no utility in the diagnosis of abdominal injury. Moreover, omission of AFS for conscious patients without clinical signs of abdominal trauma and with negative abdominal MSCT does not appear to have negative consequences in terms of missed abdominal injury.Therefore, AFS can be safely omitted in the majority of cases of polytrauma, which simplifies the imaging workup tremendously.

Identification of thoracic injuries by emergency medical services providers among trauma patients

INTRODUCTION

Severe thoracic injuries are time sensitive and adequate triage to a facility with a high-level of trauma care is crucial. The emergency medical services (EMS) providers are required to identify patients with a severe thoracic injury to transport the patient to the right hospital. However, identifying these patients on-scene is difficult. The accuracy of prehospital assessment of potential thoracic injury by EMS providers of the ground ambulances is unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the assessment of the EMS provider in the identification of a thoracic injury and determine predictors of a severe thoracic injury.

METHODS

In this multicentre cohort study, all trauma patients aged 16 and over, transported with a ground erence standard. Prehospital variables were analysed using logistic regression to explore prehospital ambulance to a trauma centre, were evaluated. The diagnostic value of EMS provider judgment was determined using the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) of ≥ 1 in the thoracic region as ref predictors of a severe thoracic injury (AIS ≥ 3).

RESULTS

In total 2766 patients were included, of whom 465 (16.8%) sustained a thoracic injury and 210 (7.6%) a severe thoracic injury. The EMS providers' judgment had a sensitivity of 54.8% and a specificity of 92.6% for the identification of a thoracic injury. Significant independent prehospital predictors were: age, oxygen saturation, Glasgow Coma Scale, fall > 2 m, and suspicion of inhalation trauma or a thoracic injury by the EMS provider.

CONCLUSION

EMS providers could identify little over half of the patients with a thoracic injury. A supplementary triage protocol to identify patients with a thoracic injury could improve prehospital triage of these patients. In this supplementary protocol, age, vital signs, and mechanism criteria could be included.

[Prehospital assessment of injury type and severity in severely injured patients by emergency physicians : An analysis of the TraumaRegister DGU®]

BACKGROUND

Prehospital assessment of injury type and severity by emergency medical services physicians impacts treatment including appropriate destination hospital selection, especially in (potentially) life-threatening cases. Injuries which are underestimated or overlooked by the emergency physician can delay adequate therapy and thus significantly influence the overall outcome. The current study used data from the TraumaRegister DGU® to evaluate the reliability of prehospital injury assessments made by emergency physicians.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Data of 30,777 patients from the TraumaRegister DGU® between 1993 and 2009 were retrospectively evaluated. Using the abbreviated injury scale (AIS), subjective prehospital assessments of injury severity by emergency physicians were correlated with objectively identified injuries diagnosed after admission to hospital. For this evaluation, prehospital injury assessments rated moderate or severe by the emergency physician as well as injuries diagnosed in hospital with an AIS score ≥3 points were deemed relevant.

RESULTS

The 30,777 patients with an injury severity score (ISS) ≥ 9 suffered a total of 202,496 injuries and of these 26 % (51,839 out of 202,496) were considered relevant with an AIS ≥3 points. The most frequent relevant injuries were to the head (47 %) and chest (46 %). Of the 51,839 relevant injuries, the prehospital assessment by the emergency physician was accurate for 71 % and in 29 % of the cases relevant injuries were underestimated. Relevant injuries were unrecognized or underestimated in prehospital assessments for almost 1 out of every 7 cases of head trauma, almost 1 out of every 3 thoracic trauma and almost 1 out of every 2 abdominal and pelvic trauma.

CONCLUSION

The assessment of injury severity by emergency medical services physicians based on physical examination at the scene of the trauma is not very reliable. Thus, mechanisms of injury and overall presentation as well as identifiable injuries and vital parameters should be recognized by the emergency physician when considering treatment strategies and choice of appropriate destination hospital. The patient should be re-evaluated in a priority-oriented manner at the latest on arrival in the trauma room to avoid the consequences of unrecognized or underestimated injuries.

[Additional emergency medical measures in trauma-associated cardiac arrest]

INTRODUCTION

More than half of all traumatic deaths happen in prehospital settings. Until now, there have been no long-term studies examining the actual additive treatment during trauma-associated cardiopulmonary resuscitation (tCPR), including pleural decompression, pericardiocentesis, tourniquets and external stabilization of the pelvis. The present cohort study evaluated forensic autopsy reports of trauma deaths occurring at the scene with respect to additive actions in preclinical tCPR as well as the potentially preventable nature of the individual death cases.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

All autopsy protocols from the Institutes of Legal Medicine in Leipzig and Chemnitz, Germany within the years 2011-2017 were retrospectively examined and all trauma deaths with professional prehospital tCPR at the scene, during transport or shortly after arriving at the emergency room were analyzed. In addition to epidemiological parameters all forms of medical procedure performed by emergency physicians and the injury patterns were recorded. Thus, the questions whether any of the trauma deaths were preventable and if failures in work-flow management were evident could be retrospectively answered through a structured Delphi method.

RESULTS

Overall, 3795 autopsy protocols were listed containing 154 trauma cases (4.1%) with various preclinical tCPR attempts (male patients 70.1%; mean age 48 ± 21 years). Most of them died at the accident site (84.4%), some during transport (2.6%) or directly after admission to a hospital (13.0%). Only 23 patients (14.9%) received 25 additional interventions exceeding the normal scope (pleural decompression 80.0%, pericardiocentesis 8.0% and external stabilization of the pelvis 12.0%). A relevant number of potentially reversible causes for trauma-associated cardiac arrest was determined. There were deficits in the performance of pleural decompression in cases of tension pneumothorax. Even if isolated traumatic hemopericardium was a rare occurrence in the examined cases, the rate of pericardiocentesis was still too low. Also, more focus needs to be placed on provisional external pelvic stabilization of trauma patients which was performed too rarely even though an instable pelvic ring was apparent during the postmortem external examination. None of the cases received a rescue thoracotomy even if a few patients might have derived benefit from this and none of the cases showed injury patterns with tourniquet indications. Furthermore, no single case of death due to incorrect or missing airway management was determined. Errors in work-flow management were found in 37.0% and potentially preventable deaths occurred cumulatively in 12.3% of the cases. The potentially preventable deaths were particularly related to penetrating chest injuries caused by a sharp force.

DISCUSSION

The percentage of patients who might benefit from additive treatment implemented in tCPR efforts was shown to be equal between the local situations in Leipzig and Chemnitz compared to previous reports in Berlin. A need for optimizing the professional resuscitation process still remains as not all reversible causes were appropriately addressed. Further training and education should intensively address the mentioned deficits and continuous awareness of necessary additional medical procedures in the preclinical setting in cases of traumatic cardiac arrest is inevitable. Cooperation with forensic institutes can help to impart particular issues and treatment options of emergency medicine in cases of potentially reversible causes of traumatic cardiac arrest.

[Not Available]

Zusammenfassung. Zusammenfassung: Schwere Unfälle zählen weiterhin zu den häufigsten Todesursachen bei jungen Erwachsenen. Die Notfallmedizin hat im Bereich der Traumaversorgung in den vergangenen Jahren grosse Fortschritte erzielen können. In diesem Artikel werden die strukturelle Entwicklung der Notfallmedizin in der Schweiz und die medizinischen Behandlungsstrategien bei Schwerstverletzten dargestellt.

Pediatric trauma care with computed tomography--criteria for CT scanning

Trauma centers, trauma management concepts, as well as integration of whole-body computed tomography (CT) reduced mortality significantly. The accuracy of a trauma care algorithm with emergency CT in children was evaluated. Data of 71 children with emergency CT were recorded retrospectively. In addition to epidemiological data admission date, kind of CT scan, mechanism of injury, missed diagnoses, injury severity score (ISS), admission to and time on intensive care unit (ICU), and time of hospitalization were observed. The algorithm for CT scanning was based on mechanism of injury, pattern of injury, and altered vital signs. Sixty-nine percent of the children reached the ER during on-call service hours. A percentage of 32.4 received a whole-body scan and 67.6 % a cranial scan. The mean ER ISS was 9.9 points (1-57). Children have different trauma mechanisms compared to adults. A percentage of 33.8 of the children had relevant trauma related findings in the CT scan. In 2 children, (2.8 %) 3 diagnoses (2.2 %) were initially missed. After reevaluation of the CT data, all diagnoses were identified. Thus, the accuracy of our algorithm in children was 100 %. In children, our algorithm detected all injuries, but only one third of the children had relevant trauma related findings in the CT scan. In order to reduce radiation exposure but preserve the advantages of CT, a new algorithm was developed with more flexibility taking the child's age and mental status more into account as well as clinical findings. The mechanism of injury itself is not anymore an indication for CT scanning.

[Management of critically ill patients in the resuscitation room. Different than for trauma?]

The general approach to the initial resuscitation of non-trauma patients does not differ from the ABCDE approach used to evaluate severely injured patients. After initial stabilization of vital functions patients are evaluated based on the symptoms and critical care interventions are initiated as and when necessary. Adequate structural logistics and personnel organization are crucial for the treatment of non-trauma critically ill patients although there is currently a lack of clearly defined requirements. For severely injured patients there are recommendations in the S3 guidelines on treatment of multiple trauma and severely injured patients and these can be modeled according to the white paper of the German Society of Trauma Surgery (DGU). However, structured training programs similar to the advanced trauma life support (ATLS®)/European resuscitation course (ETC®) that go beyond the current scope of advanced cardiac life support training are needed. The development of an advanced critically ill life support (ACILS®) concept for non-trauma critically ill patients in the resuscitation room should be supported.

[Assessment of prehospital injury severity in children: challenge for emergency physicians]

BACKGROUND

The prognosis of polytraumatized patients is dependent on the quality of emergency room (ER) management and a smooth transition from prehospital to ER therapy is essential. The accurate assessment of prehospital injury severity by emergency physicians influences prehospital therapy and level of care of the destination hospital. It also helps to ensure that medical resources are immediately available. Overestimation of injury severity wastes resources and underestimation puts patients at risk. The assessment of prehospital injury severity in adults is unreliable. In children, the assessment of injury severity seems to be even more challenging.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

For the comparison of the prehospital documented injury severity and injury severity diagnosed after the ER phase, the injury severity score (ISS) and trauma-ISS (TRISS) were calculated. The TRISS consists of the ISS and the revised trauma score (RTS). All diagnoses of the prehospital and admission charts were collected and an injury severity was allocated according to the abbreviated injury scale (AIS). The concordance of the injury severity within different tolerances was evaluated. A tolerance of the prehospital documented injury severity of more than ± 25 % to the injury severity calculated after ER diagnostics was considered as overestimation or underestimation. The concordance of the prehospital documented diagnosed injury severity and the severity diagnosed after the ER phase of different body regions according to the AIS was evaluated. The documented mechanism of injury in the emergency physician protocol was judged as being detailed, satisfactory or poor.

RESULTS

The results showed that 69 % of the children reached the ER during on-call hours. Furthermore 92 % of the children reached the ER during the daytime between 08.00 h and 20.00 h. The transportation of 25 % of the children was on a private basis. The mean ER-ISS was 10 points (range 1-57). In 42 % of cases the ISS of the emergency physician protocol within a tolerance of ± 25 % was concordant with the ER-ISS. According to this criterion in 38 % of cases an overestimation of the assessment of the injury severity of the emergency physician was found and in 20 % an underestimation. Within a tolerance of ± 75 % based on the ER-ISS, the ISS of the emergency physician protocol was concordant in more than half of the cases (52 %). Using the TRISS with a tolerance of ± 25 % a concordance was observed in 46 % of the cases. Within a tolerance of ± 50 % based on the ER-ISS the ISS calculated after ER diagnostics was concordant in 50 % of the cases. A high concordance of the prehospital and hospital injury severity was found in the region of the face (75 %). The concordance in the body regions of the head, thorax, extremities and pelvis and soft tissue ranged between 43 % and 50 % of the cases. Of the children 38 % suffered a traffic accident, 52 % a fall of less than 3 m and 10 % of more than 3 m. The mechanism of injury was documented in detail in 70 % and satisfactory in 8 %.

CONCLUSIONS

The assessment of prehospital injury severity in children is unreliable. In order to evaluate injury severity the use of anatomical trauma scores alone is insufficient. The adequate documentation of the mechanism of injury implies that the mechanism of injury seems to play a relevant role in the assessment of prehospital injury severity. The unreliable assessment of the injury severity, the arrival in the ER in on-call hours and the private transport to the hospital is a challenge to the ER leader in trauma life support for children.

The impact of arterial hypertension on polytrauma and traumatic brain injury

BACKGROUND

Pre-hospital hypotension in trauma patients is associated with high mortality. Especially for patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), arterial normotension or even hypertension (AHT) is considered an important mechanism for sustaining adequate cerebral perfusion pressure. The effect of pre-hospital arterial hypertension (pAHT) on in-hospital mortality after trauma has not been studied to date.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed data in the trauma registry of the German Society for Trauma Surgery (DGU) on all trauma patients in Germany from 1993 to 2008 who were 16 to 80 years old at the time of the trauma and had an injury severity score (ISS) of 9 or above (total, 42 500 patient data sets). For the analysis, we divided the patients into two groups: those with and those without TBI. We further divided the TBI patients into five subgroups depending on the course of their systolic blood pressure up to the moment of their arrival at the hospital. We also analyzed the patients' demographic data, patterns of injury, and accident mechanisms.

RESULTS

Trauma patients with TBI and pAHT (142 of 561 patients) had a significantly higher mortality than normotensive TBI patients (25.3% vs. 13.5%, p<0.001). Arterial hypertension that either rises or falls before the patient reaches the hospital is associated with higher in-hospital mortality. A logistical regression analysis of 5384 patients revealed that patients with pAHT (n = 561) had an odds ratio of 1.9 (95% confidence interval, 1.4 to 1.6) for death in the hospital compared to normotensive patients (n = 6020).

CONCLUSION

Systolic blood pressure values above 160 mm Hg before arrival in the hospital worsen the outcome of trauma patients with TBI.

Accuracy of prehospital diagnosis and triage of a Swiss helicopter emergency medical service

BACKGROUND

Helicopter emergency medical services (HEMSs) have become a standard element of modern prehospital emergency medicine. This study determines the percentage of injured HEMS patients whose injuries were correctly recognized by HEMS physicians.

METHODS

A retrospective level III evidence prognostic study using data from the largest Swiss HEMS, REGA (Rettungsflugwacht/Guarde Aérienne), on adult patients with trauma transported to a Level I trauma center (January 2006-December 2007). National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) scores and the Injury Severity Score (ISS) were assessed to identify severely injured patients. Injured body regions diagnosed by REGA physicians were compared with emergency department discharge diagnoses.

RESULTS

Four hundred thirty-three patients were analyzed. Median age was 42.1 years (interquartile range, 25.5-57.9). Three hundred twenty-three (74.6%) were men. Patients were severely injured, with an in-hospital NACA score of 4 or higher in 88.7% of patients and median ISS of 13. REGA physicians correctly recognized injuries to the head in 92.9%, to the femur in 90.5%, and to the tibia/fibula in 83.8% of patients. Injuries to these body regions were overdiagnosed in less than 30%. Abdominal injuries were missed in 56.1%, pelvic injuries in 51.8%, spinal injuries in 40.1%, and chest injuries in 31.2% of patients.

CONCLUSION

This study shows that patients are adequately triaged by REGA physicians reflected by a NACA score 4 or higher in 88.7% of patients and a median ISS of 13. However, recognition of injured body regions seems to be challenging in the prehospital setting. Prospective studies on specific training of HEMS physicians for recognition of these injuries (e.g., portable ultrasonography, telemedicine) might help in the future.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Prognostic study, level III.