Scand J Trauma Resus
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Jan 2014
Multicenter StudyIncreased risk of ischemic stroke in patients with mild traumatic brain injury: a nationwide cohort study.
It is known that the risk of stroke in patients with traumatic brain injury might be increased. However, the relationship between mild traumatic brain injury and ischemic stroke has never been established. We conducted a study of patients in Taiwan with mild traumatic brain injury to evaluate if they had a higher risk of stroke compared with the general population. ⋯ Mild traumatic brain injury is an independent significant risk factor for ischemic stroke.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Jan 2014
Prehospital administered fascia iliaca compartment block by emergency medical service nurses, a feasibility study.
Patients with a proximal femur fracture are often difficult to evacuate from the accident scene. Prehospital pain management for this vulnerable group of patients may be challenging. Multiple co-morbidities, polypharmacy and increased age may limit the choice of suitable analgesics. The fascia iliaca compartment (FIC) block may be an alternative to intravenous analgesics. However this peripheral nerve block is mainly applied by physicians.In the Netherlands, prehospital emergency care is mostly provided by EMS-nurses. Therefore we examined whether well-trained EMS-nurses are able to successfully perform a FIC block in order to ensure timely and appropriate effective analgesia.The study was study was registered in the Netherlands Trial Register (NTR-nr 3824). ⋯ Additional educated EMS-nurses are able to successfully perform a FIC-block for providing acute pain relief to patients with a suspected proximal femur fracture.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Jan 2014
Translation of ERC resuscitation guidelines into clinical practice by emergency physicians.
Austrian out-of-hospital emergency physicians (OOHEP) undergo mandatory biannual emergency physician refresher courses to maintain their licence. The purpose of this study was to compare different reported emergency skills and knowledge, recommended by the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) guidelines, between OOHEP who work regularly at an out-of-hospital emergency service and those who do not currently work as OOHEP but are licenced. ⋯ Licenced and employed OOHEP implement ERC guidelines better into clinical practice, but more training on life-saving rescue techniques needs to be done to improve knowledge and to raise these rates of application.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Jan 2014
Improvement of clinical quality indicators through reorganization of the acute care by establishing an emergency department-a register study based on data from national indicators.
The Emergency Departments (EDs) reorganization process in Denmark began in 2007 and includes creating a single entrance for all emergency patients, establishing triage, having a specialist in the front and introducing the use of electronic overview boards and electronic patient files. The aim of this study was to investigate the quality of acute care in a re-organized ED based on national indicator project data in a pre and post reorganizational setting. ⋯ During the organisation of the new EDs, several of the indicators improved and the overall 30 days mortality decreased in the five diseases. The development of a common set of indicators for monitoring acute treatment at EDs in Denmark is recommended.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Jan 2014
Effect evaluation of a heated ambulance mattress-prototype on body temperatures and thermal comfort - an experimental study.
Exposure to cold temperatures is, often, a neglected problem in prehospital care. One of the leading influences of the overall sensation of cold discomfort is the cooling of the back. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a heated ambulance mattress-prototype on body temperatures and thermal comfort in an experimental study. ⋯ Heat supply from underneath the body results in increased comfort and may prevent hypothermia which is important for injured and sick patients in ambulance care.