Der Unfallchirurg
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A 73-year-old male patient suffered multiple dog bites to the left hand and lower arm. The initial treatment in hospital consisted of conservative treatment with wound closure strips and bandages. For further treatment the patient was referred to the general practitioner who found a discharge of pus below the wound closure strips 2 days later. ⋯ In the subsequent arbitration procedure, the patient criticized the initial treatment and claimed that the bite wounds were not cleansed and were then closed with wound closure strips without antibiotic treatment. This was assumed to have caused extensive infection, which required surgical treatment and caused lasting complaints. The arbitration board report determined an insufficient initial clinical assessment and a faulty wound care resulting in, among other things, reduced range of movement of all fingers of the left hand.
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A systematic assessment of the quality of medical treatment by using key indicators has been required in Germany for many years. These quality indicators (QI) have to satisfy many requirements. Besides an expert review an empirical data-based evaluation is also necessary. The TraumaRegister DGU® (TR-DGU) has reported QI in the annual reports from the beginning. The objective of this study was to validate 40 QI for the treatment of severely injured patients reviewed by experts using data from the TR-DGU. ⋯ There is no doubt regarding the necessity of scientifically assessing QI. Approximately half of the evaluated QI showed an empirical association with mortality. Interventions and events showed better results than measurements of procedural times; however, many QI may require a refined definition. The interpretation of the results is still challenging due to differences in the patient groups. Secondary endpoints, such as hospital length of stay and quality of life after trauma were not considered here.
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Observational Study
[The Berlin mass casualty hospital triage algorithm : Development, implementation and influence on exercise-based triage results].
Patient triage has a key function within the scope of the successful management of mass disasters and ensures the correct resource allocation. Analysis of unheralded hospital disaster training in Berlin hospitals revealed triage problems referring the correct classification of patients in the triage categories and relevant overtriaging and undertriaging. Therefore, a triage algorithm tailored to the clinical setting was developed in Berlin and after presentation and discussion within the circle of the representatives for clinical catastrophe protection, the algorithm was introduced as obligatory in 2015. This study was carried out to validate and investigate the effects of the triage algorithm. ⋯ The Berlin hospital triage algorithm was successfully validated. The triage category allocation was significantly improved in all relevant aspects after implementation with a significant reduction of overtriaging and undertriaging.
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Needlestick injuries (NSI) are potentially infectious injuries from sharp or pointed medical instruments and through contact with blood on mucous membranes or nonintact skin. Although the European Union (EU) Council directive 2010/32/EU on the prevention of NSI was implemented in EU countries in 2013, information on the effectiveness of the measures is limited. ⋯ Implementation of the EU Council directive 2010/32/EU, resulted in an almost 50% reduction in NSIs over 1 year, including the complete prevention of NSIs due to scalpels. In addition, the anamnestic presence of immunization against hepatitis B and index patient identification were significantly increased.
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Scaphoid fractures are frequent but are overlooked in 20-40% of cases on initial radiographs. In so-called occult scaphoid fractures, i.e. clinical scaphoid fractures with negative X‑ray diagnostics, the hand of the patient is often empirically immobilized with a cast and the X‑ray diagnostics repeated 10 days later. ⋯ Pensioners and patients with low manual demands, however, can be treated according to the traditional algorithm. Additional use of computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) diagnostics with or without intra-articular contrast agent might be helpful if concomitant soft tissue injuries are suspected.