Scand J Trauma Resus
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Apr 2024
ReviewPrevalence of airway patency and air pocket in critically buried avalanche victims - a scoping review.
Survival of critically buried avalanche victims is directly dependent on the patency of the airway and the victims' ability to breathe. While guidelines and avalanche research have consistently emphasized on the importance of airway patency, there is a notable lack of evidence regarding its prevalence. ⋯ The present study found that in critically buried avalanche victims patent airways were more than three times more prevalent than obstructed, with the airway status reported only in half of the cases. This high rate of airway patency supports the ongoing development and the effectiveness of avalanche rescue systems which oppose asphyxiation in critically buried avalanche victims. Further effort should be done to improve the documentation of airway patency and the presence of an air pocket in avalanche victims and to identify factors affecting the rate of airway obstruction.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Apr 2024
ReviewOptimizing remote and rural prehospital resources using air transport of thrombectomy candidates.
In Finland, the yearly number of mechanical thrombectomies for acute stroke is increasing and more patients are transported over 100 km to the comprehensive stroke centre (CSC) for definitive care. This leaves the rural townships without immediate emergency medical services (EMS) for hours. In this study we compare the EMS' estimated return times to own station after the handover of a thrombectomy candidate between two transport methods: (1) using ground transportation with an ambulance to the CSC or (2) using a hydrid strategy starting the transportation with an ambulance and continuing by air with a helicopter emergency medical services unit (HEMS). ⋯ A hybrid strategy to transport thrombectomy candidates with an ambulance and a helicopter reallocates the EMS resources markedly faster back to their own district.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Apr 2024
ReviewNon-technical skills needed by medical disaster responders- a scoping review.
There is no universal agreement on what competence in disaster medicine is, nor what competences and personal attributes add value for disaster responders. Some studies suggest that disaster responders need not only technical skills but also non-technical skills. Consensus of which non-technical skills are needed and how training for these can be provided is lacking, and little is known about how to apply knowledge of non-technical skills in the recruitment of disaster responders. Therefore, this scoping review aimed to identify the non-technical skills required for the disaster medicine response. ⋯ Non-technical skills are skills that disaster responders need. Which non-technical skills are most needed, how to train and measure non-technical skills, and how to implement non-technical skills in disaster medicine need further studies.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Apr 2024
Multicenter Study Observational StudyDevelopment and internal validation of an algorithm for estimating mortality in patients encountered by physician-staffed helicopter emergency medical services.
Severity of illness scoring systems are used in intensive care units to enable the calculation of adjusted outcomes for audit and benchmarking purposes. Similar tools are lacking for pre-hospital emergency medicine. Therefore, using a national helicopter emergency medical services database, we developed and internally validated a mortality prediction algorithm. ⋯ Based on 11 demographic, mission-specific, and physiologic variables, we developed and internally validated a novel severity of illness algorithm for use with patients encountered by physician-staffed helicopter emergency medical services, which may help in future quality improvement.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Apr 2024
Randomized Controlled TrialEffect of a vapor barrier in combination with active external rewarming for cold-stressed patients in a prehospital setting: a randomized, crossover field study.
Use of a vapor barrier in the prehospital care of cold-stressed or hypothermic patients aims to reduce evaporative heat loss and accelerate rewarming. The application of a vapor barrier is recommended in various guidelines, along with both insulating and wind/waterproof layers and an active external rewarming device; however, evidence of its effect is limited. This study aimed to investigate the effect of using a vapor barrier as the inner layer in the recommended "burrito" model for wrapping hypothermic patients in the field. ⋯ The use of a vapor barrier as the innermost layer in combination with an active external heat source leads to higher mean skin rewarming rates in patients wearing wet clothing who are at risk of accidental hypothermia.