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Müller M, Hautz W, Louma Y, Knapp J, Schnüriger B, Simmen HP, Pietsch U, Jakob DA. Accuracy between prehospital and hospital diagnosis in helicopter emergency medical services and its consequences for trauma care. Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg 2024:10.1007/s00068-024-02505-y. [PMID: 38563962 DOI: 10.1007/s00068-024-02505-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/16/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE For optimal prehospital trauma care, it is essential to adequately recognize potential life-threatening injuries in order to correctly triage patients and to initiate life-saving measures. The aim of the present study was to determine the accuracy of prehospital diagnoses suspected by helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS). METHODS This retrospective multicenter study included patients from the Swiss Trauma Registry with ISS ≥ 16 or AIS head ≥ 3 transported by Switzerland's largest HEMS and subsequently admitted to one of twelve Swiss trauma centers from 01/2020 to 12/2020. The primary outcome was the comparison of injuries suspected prehospital with the final diagnoses obtained at the hospital using the abbreviated injury scale (AIS) per body region. As secondary outcomes, prehospital interventions were compared to corresponding relevant diagnoses. RESULTS Relevant head trauma was the most commonly injured body region and was identified in 96.3% (95% CI: 92.1%; 98.6%) of the cases prehospital. Relevant injuries to the chest, abdomen, and pelvis were also common but less often identified prehospital [62.7% (95% CI: 54.2%; 70.6%), 45.5% (95% CI: 30.4%; 61.2%), and 61.5% (95% CI: 44.6%; 76.6%)]. Overall, 7 of 95 (7.4%) patients with pneumothorax received a chest decompression and in 22 of 39 (56.4%) patients with an instable pelvic fracture a pelvic binder was applied prehospital. CONCLUSION Approximately half of severe chest, abdominal, and pelvic diagnoses made in hospital went undetected in the challenging prehospital environment. This underlines the difficult circumstances faced by the rescue teams. Potentially life-saving interventions such as prehospital chest decompression and increased use of a pelvic binder were identified as potential improvements to prehospital care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Müller
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Wolf Hautz
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Yves Louma
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Jürgen Knapp
- Department of Anaesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Swiss Air-Ambulance, Rega (Rettungsflugwacht/Guarde Aérienne), Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Beat Schnüriger
- Department of Visceral Surgery and Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Hans-Peter Simmen
- Department of Traumatology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Ramistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Urs Pietsch
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010, Bern, Switzerland
- Division of Perioperative Intensive Care Medicine, Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
- Swiss Air-Ambulance, Rega (Rettungsflugwacht/Guarde Aérienne), Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Dominik A Jakob
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010, Bern, Switzerland.
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Pedersen CK, Stengaard C, Friesgaard K, Dodt KK, Søndergaard HM, Terkelsen CJ, Bøtker MT. Chest pain in the ambulance; prevalence, causes and outcome - a retrospective cohort study. Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med 2019; 27:84. [PMID: 31464622 PMCID: PMC6716930 DOI: 10.1186/s13049-019-0659-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 08/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Chest pain is common in acute ambulance transports. This study aims to characterize and compare ambulance-transported chest pain patients to non-chest pain patients and evaluate if patient characteristics and accompanying symptoms accessible at the time of emergency call can predict cause and outcome in chest pain patients. METHODS Retrospective, observational population-based study, including acute ambulance transports. Patient characteristics and symptoms are included in a multivariable risk model to identify characteristics, associated with being discharged without an acute cardiac diagnosis and surviving 30 days after chest pain event. RESULTS In total, 10,033 of 61,088 (16.4%) acute ambulance transports were due to chest pain. In chest pain patients, 30-day mortality was 2.1% (95%CI 1.8-2.4) compared to 6.0% (95%CI 5.7-6.2) in non-chest pain patients. Of chest pain patients, 1054 (10.5%) were diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction, and 5068 (50.5%) were discharged without any diagnosis of disease. This no-diagnosis group had very low 30-day mortality, 0.4% (95%CI 0.2-0.9). Female gender, younger age, chronic pulmonary disease, absence of accompanying symptoms of dyspnoea, radiation, severe pain for > 5 min, clammy skin, uncomfortable, and nausea were associated with being discharged without an acute cardiac diagnosis and surviving 30 days after a chest pain event. CONCLUSION Chest pain is a common reason for ambulance transport, but the majority of patients are discharged without a diagnosis and with a high survival rate. Early risk prediction seems to hold a potential for resource downgrading and thus cost-saving in selected chest pain patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claus Kjær Pedersen
- Department of Cardiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 99, 8200, Aarhus N, Denmark.
| | - Carsten Stengaard
- Department of Cardiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 99, 8200, Aarhus N, Denmark
| | - Kristian Friesgaard
- Department of Anesthesiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.,Research and Development, Prehospital Emergency Medical Services, Central Denmark Region, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Karen Kaae Dodt
- Department of Internal Medicine, Regional Hospital Horsens, Horsens, Denmark
| | | | - Christian Juhl Terkelsen
- Department of Cardiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 99, 8200, Aarhus N, Denmark
| | - Morten Thingemann Bøtker
- Department of Anesthesiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.,Research and Development, Prehospital Emergency Medical Services, Central Denmark Region, Aarhus, Denmark
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Walter S, Ragoschke-Schumm A, Lesmeister M, Helwig SA, Kettner M, Grunwald IQ, Fassbender K. Mobile stroke unit use for prehospital stroke treatment-an update. Radiologe 2019; 58:24-28. [PMID: 29947929 DOI: 10.1007/s00117-018-0408-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Acute ischemic stroke is a treatable disease. Moreover, there is increasing evidence supporting mechanical recanalization for large-vessel occlusion, even beyond a strict time window. However, only small numbers of patients receive causal treatment. METHODS One of the main reasons that patients do not receive causal therapy is their late arrival at the correct target hospital, which, depending on the type of stroke, is either a regional stroke unit or a comprehensive stroke center for interventional treatment. In order to triage patients correctly, a fast and complex diagnostic work-up is necessary, allowing a stroke specialist to decide on the best therapy option. As treatment possibilities become more comprehensive with the need for individualized decisions, the gap between treatment options and practical implementation is increasing. RESULTS The "mobile stroke unit" concept encompasses the administration of prehospital acute stroke diagnostic work-up, therapy initiation, and triage to the correct hospital using a specially equipped ambulance, staffed with a team specialized in stroke. The concept, which was conceived and first put into practice in Homburg/Saar, Germany, in 2008, is currently spreading with more than 20 active mobile stroke unit centers worldwide. The use of mobile stroke units can reduce the time until stroke treatment by 50% with a tenfold increase of patients treated within the first 60 min of symptom onset. CONCLUSION The mobile stroke unit concept for acute stroke prehospital management is spreading worldwide. Intensive research is still needed to analyze the best setting for prehospital stroke management.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Walter
- Department of Neurology, Saarland University, Kirrbergerstraße 1, 66421, Homburg, Germany. .,Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK.
| | - A Ragoschke-Schumm
- Department of Neurology, Saarland University, Kirrbergerstraße 1, 66421, Homburg, Germany
| | - M Lesmeister
- Department of Neurology, Saarland University, Kirrbergerstraße 1, 66421, Homburg, Germany
| | - S A Helwig
- Department of Neurology, Saarland University, Kirrbergerstraße 1, 66421, Homburg, Germany
| | - M Kettner
- Department of Neuroradiology, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany
| | - I Q Grunwald
- Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK
| | - K Fassbender
- Department of Neurology, Saarland University, Kirrbergerstraße 1, 66421, Homburg, Germany
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Yang J, Zhao H, Li G, Ran Q, Chen J, Bai Z, Jin G, Sun J, Xu J, Qin M, Chen M. An experimental study on the early diagnosis of traumatic brain injury in rabbits based on a noncontact and portable system. PeerJ 2019; 7:e6717. [PMID: 30997290 PMCID: PMC6463870 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.6717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2018] [Accepted: 03/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Closed cerebral hemorrhage (CCH) is a common symptom in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients who suffer intracranial hemorrhage with the dura mater remaining intact. The diagnosis of CCH patients prior to hospitalization and in the early stage of the disease can help patients get earlier treatments that improve outcomes. In this study, a noncontact, portable system for early TBI-induced CCH detection was constructed that measures the magnetic induction phase shift (MIPS), which is associated with the mean brain conductivity caused by the ratio between the liquid (blood/CSF and the intracranial tissues) change. To evaluate the performance of this system, a rabbit CCH model with two severity levels was established based on the horizontal biological impactor BIM-II, whose feasibility was verified by computed tomography images of three sections and three serial slices. There were two groups involved in the experiments (group 1 with 10 TBI rabbits were simulated by hammer hit with air pressure of 600 kPa by BIM-II and group 2 with 10 TBI rabbits were simulated with 650 kPa). The MIPS values of the two groups were obtained within 30 min before and after injury. In group 1, the MIPS values showed a constant downward trend with a minimum value of −11.17 ± 2.91° at the 30th min after 600 kPa impact by BIM-II. After the 650 kPa impact, the MIPS values in group 2 showed a constant downward trend until the 25th min, with a minimum value of −16.81 ± 2.10°. Unlike group 1, the MIPS values showed an upward trend after that point. Before the injury, the MIPS values in both group 1 and group 2 did not obviously change within the 30 min measurement. Using a support vector machine at the same time point after injury, the classification accuracy of the two types of severity was shown to be beyond 90%. Combined with CCH pathological mechanisms, this system can not only achieve the detection of early functional changes in CCH but can also distinguish different severities of CCH.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Yang
- College of Biomedical Engineering, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Hui Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Institute of Surgery Research, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Gen Li
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Chongqing University of Technology, Chongqing, China
| | - Qisheng Ran
- Department of Radiology, Army Medical Center, Chongqing, China
| | - Jingbo Chen
- College of Biomedical Engineering, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Zelin Bai
- College of Biomedical Engineering, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Gui Jin
- College of Biomedical Engineering, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Jian Sun
- College of Biomedical Engineering, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Jia Xu
- College of Biomedical Engineering, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Mingxin Qin
- College of Biomedical Engineering, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Mingsheng Chen
- College of Biomedical Engineering, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
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