Civil protection and disaster medicine in Germany today

A Region-Wide All-Hazard Training Program for Prehospital Mass Casualty Incident Management: A Real-World Case Study

OBJECTIVE

We report the development, implementation, and results of a sustainable region-wide mass-casualty management prehospital training program implemented by the Regione Lombardia emergency medical services (EMS) agency AREU in Italy.

METHODS

The educational program learning objectives are: (1) command and control, communications, and resource management; (2) mass casualty triage and the START triage protocol; (3) on-scene management; (4) Regione Lombardia and AREU Mass Casualty standard operating procedures; and (5) inter-agency communications and relations. For each course edition data on participants' summative assessment, participants' feedback and costs were collected.

RESULTS

Between June 26, 2013, and December 31, 2020, a total of 84 editions of the provider training event were delivered, training an overall 1329 prehospital providers; 1239 (93%) passed the summative assessment and were qualified as being operationally "ready." Regarding participant feedback, the overall program was rated 4.4 ± 0.7 out of 5. The overall cost of running the provider program during the study period was €321 510 (circa US $382 000). The average cost per edition was €3828 and €242 per participant.

CONCLUSIONS

We have described a simple yet interactive simulation and blended-learning approach, which has yielded good pass rates, good participant satisfaction, and contained costs to systematically train emergency medical service personnel.

Are burn centers in German-speaking countries prepared to respond to a burn disaster? Survey-based study

Burn disasters present a challenge not only to burn centers but the entire healthcare system. Most burn centers worldwide are unprepared to deal with a burn disaster as it is an uncommon event. We investigated the status of burn center preparedness in German-speaking countries to respond to a burn disaster. Self-administered survey questionnaires were sent to the directors of burn centers; the questions of survey used before in a similar way in Belgium were translated into German language. Of the 46 questioned burn centers, 32 (78%) responded, including all of the German adult burn centers. A clear difference in the preparation status of the burn centers in the three countries was observed due to geopolitical factors such as decentralized healthcare systems. However, the healthcare system is generally well-prepared concerning command, transfer, and capacity to provide sustained supplies to handle a massive influx of patients. Nevertheless, there are some gaps in the areas of planning and preparation, funding for disaster activities, and regular training of staff for burn disasters. We call for a unified burn disaster plan and increased cooperation between burn centers and civil defense regarding communication and training. We strongly recommend the implementation of a special disaster fund and telemedicine in disaster management to circumvent shortages in burn staff.

A Productive Proposed Search Syntax for Health Disaster Preparedness Research

Objective:

To find a proper search strategy to do a systematic review related to preparedness for disasters.

Methods:

MeSH and Emtree terms were searched to detect synonyms for two main search terms “disaster” and “preparedness”. Expert opinion on the synonyms was examined applying a Google form. The adopted syntax was searched in PubMed and results were sifted. Hand searching in two top key journals was done and sensitivity was calculated.

Results:

Out of 1120 articles, 122 were included. In PDM journal, 10 articles were included by hand searching, out of which 5 were not spotted in PubMed search with the proposed syntax. In DMPHP journal, 13 publications were included, with 5 not found in PubMed search. Because of human error in hand searching 2 articles were added.

Conclusion:

The proposed syntax in this study achieves a sensitivity of search of 0.6 in PubMed which could be quite applicable for researchers. Moreover, in case only MeSH or Emtree terms were applied in search strategy or where hand searching was not performed, there were a number of articles missed.

A Productive Proposed Search Syntax for Health Disaster Preparedness Research

Objective

To find a proper search strategy to do a systematic review related to preparedness for disasters.

Methods

MeSH and Emtree terms were searched to detect synonyms for two main search terms "disaster" and "preparedness". Expert opinion on the synonyms was examined applying a Google form. The adopted syntax was searched in PubMed and results were sifted. Hand searching in two top key journals was done and sensitivity was calculated.

Results

Out of 1120 articles, 122 were included. In PDM journal, 10 articles were included by hand searching, out of which 5 were not spotted in PubMed search with the proposed syntax. In DMPHP journal, 13 publications were included, with 5 not found in PubMed search. Because of human error in hand searching 2 articles were added.

Conclusion

The proposed syntax in this study achieves a sensitivity of search of 0.6 in PubMed which could be quite applicable for researchers. Moreover, in case only MeSH or Emtree terms were applied in search strategy or where hand searching was not performed, there were a number of articles missed.

[Preclinical and intrahospital management of mass casualties and terrorist incidents]

Due to the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, Brussels, Ansbach, Munich, Berlin and more recently Manchester and London, terrorism is realized as a present threat to our society and social life, as well as a challenge for the health care system. Without fueling anxiety, there is a need for sensitization to this subject and to familiarize all concerned with the special kind of terrorist attack-related injuries, the operational priorities and tactics and the individual basic principles of preclinical and hospital care. There is a need to adapt the known established medical structure for a conventional mass casualty situation to the special requirements that are raised by this new kind of terrorist threat to our social life. It is the aim of this article, from a surgical point of view, to depict the tactics and challenges of preclinical care of the special kind of terrorist attack-related injuries from the site of the incident, via the advanced medical post or casualty collecting point, to the triage point at the hospital. The special needs of medical care and organizational aspects of the primary treatment in the hospital are highlighted and possible decisional options and different approaches are discussed.