Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
A Randomized Controlled Trial of Aspirin and Exertional Heat Stress Activation of Platelets in Firefighters during Exertion in Thermal Protective Clothing.
Platelet aggregation is enhanced in firefighters following short bouts of work in thermal protective clothing (TPC). We sought to determine if aspirin therapy before and/or following exertion in TPC prevents platelet activation. ⋯ Daily aspirin therapy blunts platelet activation during exertional heat stress and single-dose aspirin therapy following exertional heat stress reduces platelet activation within 60 minutes.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Randomized Trial Comparing Two Mass Casualty Triage Systems (JumpSTART versus SALT) in a Pediatric Simulated Mass Casualty Event.
Several field triage systems have been developed to rapidly sort patients following a mass casualty incident (MCI). JumpSTART (Simple Triage and Rapid Transport) is a pediatric-specific MCI triage system. SALT (Sort, Assess, Lifesaving interventions, Treat/Transport) has been proposed as a new national standard for MCI triage for both adult and pediatric patients, but it has not been tested in a pediatric population. This pilot study hypothesizes that SALT is at least as good as JumpSTART in triage accuracy, speed, and ease of use in a simulated pediatric MCI. ⋯ SALT appears to be at least as good as JumpSTART in overall triage accuracy, overtriage, or undertriage rates in a simulated pediatric MCI. Both systems were considered easy to use. However, JumpSTART was 8 seconds faster per patient in time taken to assign triage designations.