Scand J Trauma Resus
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Jun 2012
Comparative StudyThe effectiveness of ultrasonography in verifying the placement of a nasogastric tube in patients with low consciousness at an emergency center.
This study was designed to compare the effectiveness of using auscultation, pH measurements of gastric aspirates, and ultrasonography as physical examination methods to verify nasogastric tube(NGT) placement in emergency room patients with low consciousness who require NGT insertion. ⋯ Ultrasonography is useful for confirming the results of auscultation after NGT insertion among patients with low consciousness at an emergency center. When ultrasound findings suggest that the NGT placement is not gastric, additional chest X-ray should be performed.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Apr 2012
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyBasic life support skills of high school students before and after cardiopulmonary resuscitation training: a longitudinal investigation.
Immediate bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) significantly improves survival after a sudden cardiopulmonary collapse. This study assessed the basic life support (BLS) knowledge and performance of high school students before and after CPR training. ⋯ BLS training in high school seems highly effective considering the minimal amount of previous knowledge the students possess. We observed significant improvement and a good retention rate four months after training. Increasing the number of trained students may minimize the reluctance to conduct bystander CPR and increase the number of positive outcomes after sudden cardiopulmonary collapse.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Apr 2012
Emergency department length of stay for patients requiring mechanical ventilation: a prospective observational study.
Recommendations for acceptable emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS) vary internationally with ≤ 8 h generally considered acceptable. Protracted ED LOS may place critically ill patients requiring mechanical ventilation at increased risk of adverse events as most EDs are not resourced for longitudinal delivery of critical care. Our objective was to quantify the ED LOS for mechanically ventilated patients (invasive and/or non-invasive ventilation [NIV]) and to explore patient and system level predictors of prolonged ED LOS. Additionally, we aimed to describe delivery and monitoring of ventilation in the ED. ⋯ While patients requiring mechanical ventilation represent a small proportion of overall ED visits these critically ill patients frequently experienced prolonged ED stay especially those treated with NIV, assigned lower priority triage scores at ED presentation, and non-trauma patients.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Apr 2012
Abnormal vital signs are strong predictors for intensive care unit admission and in-hospital mortality in adults triaged in the emergency department - a prospective cohort study.
Assessment and treatment of the acutely ill patient have improved by introducing systematic assessment and accelerated protocols for specific patient groups. Triage systems are widely used, but few studies have investigated the ability of the triage systems in predicting outcome in the unselected acute population. The aim of this study was to quantify the association between the main component of the Hillerød Acute Process Triage (HAPT) system and the outcome measures; Admission to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and in-hospital mortality, and to identify the vital signs, scored and categorized at admission, that are most strongly associated with the outcome measures. ⋯ The HAPT system is valid in terms of predicting in-hospital mortality and ICU admission in the adult acute population. Abnormal vital signs are strongly associated with adverse outcome, while including the presenting complaint in the triage model may result in over-triage.