Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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Background: Point-of-care ultrasound is rapidly becoming more prevalent in the prehospital environment. Though considered a relatively new intervention in this setting, there is growing literature that aims to explore the use of prehospital ultrasound by EMS personnel. Methods: To better understand and report the state of the science on prehospital ultrasound, we conducted a narrative review of the literature. ⋯ Unique use scenarios that show promise include during critical care transport, for triage in austere settings, and for thoracic evaluation of patients at risk of life-threatening pathology. Conclusion: There is a growing mostly observational body of literature describing the use of ultrasound by prehospital personnel. Prehospital ultrasound has demonstrated feasibility for specific conditions, yet interventional studies evaluating benefit to patient outcomes are absent.
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Helicopter EMS (HEMS) is a well-established mode of rapid transportation for patients with need for time-sensitive interventions, especially in patients with significant traumatic injuries. Traditionally in the setting of trauma, HEMS is often considered appropriate when used for patients with "severe" injury as defined by Injury Severity Score (ISS) >15. This may be overly conservative, and patients with a lower ISS may benefit from HEMS-associated speed or care quality. Our objective was to perform a meta-analysis of trauma HEMS transports to evaluate for possible mortality benefit in injured cases defined by an ISS score >8, lower than the customary ISS cutoff of >15. ⋯ There was a statistically significant survival benefit in patients with ISS > 8 when HEMS was used over traditional ground ambulance transportation, although novel and more inclusive trauma triage criteria may be more appropriate in the future to guide HEMS utilization decision-making. Restricting HEMS to trauma patients with ISS >15 likely misses survival benefit that could be afforded to the subset of trauma patients with serious injury.
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To determine the effect of video and direct laryngoscopy on first-pass success rates for out-of-hospital orotracheal intubation. ⋯ We found substantial heterogeneity among out-of-hospital studies comparing video laryngoscopy to direct laryngoscopy on first-pass success, overall success, or intubation time. This heterogeneity was not explained with stratification by study design, clinician type, video laryngoscope blade geometry, or leave-one-out meta-analysis. A majority of studies showed that video laryngoscopy was associated with improved first pass success in all subgroups, but only for paramedics and not physicians when looking at overall success. This improvement was more common in studies that used Macintosh blades than those that used hyperangulated blades. Future research should explore the heterogeneity identified in our analysis with an emphasis on differences in training, clinical milieu, and specific video laryngoscope devices.
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Observation of the electrocardiogram (ECG) immediately following return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in resuscitated swine has revealed the interesting phenomenon of sudden ECG rhythm changes (SERC) that occur in the absence of pharmacological, surgical, or other medical interventions. ⋯ SERC occurred in nearly half of all cases with sustained ROSC and can occur multiple times per case. First SERC most often occurred within the first 4 minutes following ROSC. Heart rate, CAP, and CVP changed at the moment of SERC. We are proceeding to examine whether this phenomenon occurs in humans post-cardiac arrest and ROSC.
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Practice Guideline
Evidence-Based Guideline for Prehospital Airway Management.
Airway management is a cornerstone of emergency medical care. This project aimed to create evidence-based guidelines based on the systematic review recently conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). A technical expert panel was assembled to review the evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology. ⋯ The recommendations address the use of ventilation with bag-valve mask ventilation alone vs. supraglottic airways vs. endotracheal intubation for adults and children with cardiac arrest, medical emergencies, and trauma. Additional recommendations address the use of video laryngoscopy and drug-assisted airway management. These recommendations, and the associated good practice statements, offer EMS agencies and clinicians an opportunity to review the available evidence and incorporate it into their airway management strategies.