Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Pre-hospital freeze-dried plasma for critical bleeding after trauma: A pilot randomized controlled trial.
Transfusion of a high ratio of plasma to packed red blood cells (PRBCs), to treat or prevent acute traumatic coagulopathy, has been associated with survival after major trauma. However, the effect of prehospital plasma on patient outcomes has been inconsistent. The aim of this pilot trial was to assess the feasibility of transfusing freeze-dried plasma with red blood cells (RBCs) using a randomized controlled design in an Australian aeromedical prehospital setting. ⋯ This first reported experience of freeze-dried plasma use in Australia suggests prehospital administration is feasible. Given longer prehospital times typically associated with HEMS attendance, there is potential clinical benefit from this intervention and rationale for a definitive trial.
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Focusing on potential missed injury rates and sensitivity of low-risk of injury predictions, we sought to evaluate the accuracy of physician gestalt in predicting clinically significant injury (CSI) in the abdomen and pelvis among blunt trauma patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). ⋯ Physician gestalt for the prediction of adult abdominal and pelvic CSI is moderately accurate and calibrated. However, the potential missed CSI rate and low sensitivity of the low perceived risk of injury cutoffs indicate that gestalt by itself is insufficient to direct selective abdominal/pelvic CT use in adult blunt trauma patient evaluation.
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Identifying and eliminating racial health care disparities is a public health priority. However, data evaluating race differences in emergency department (ED) chest pain care are limited. ⋯ In this U.S. cohort, non-White patients were less likely to receive NIT and cardiac catheterization compared to Whites but had similar rates of revascularization and cardiac death or MI.