Scand J Trauma Resus
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Jan 2015
EditorialImplementing new advanced airway management standards in the Hungarian physician staffed Helicopter Emergency Medical Service.
In 2011 the Hungarian Air Ambulance Nonprofit Limited Company introduced a new Rapid Sequence Intubation standard operating procedure using a template from London's Air Ambulance. This replaced a previous ad-hoc and unsafe prehospital advanced airway management practice. It was hoped that this would increase clinical standards including internationally comparable results. ⋯ The rate of intubations that were successful on first attempt was 95.4% (413), while intubation was successful overall in 99.1% (429) of the cases; there was no failed airway. 90 complications were noted with 73 (16.9%) patients. Average on scene time was 49 minutes (ranging between: 15-110 minutes). This data shows that it is possible to effectively change a system that was in place for decades by implementing a new robust system that is based on a good template.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · May 2014
Editorial ReviewQuality improvement in pre-hospital critical care: increased value through research and publication.
Pre-hospital critical care is considered to be a complex intervention with a weak evidence base. In quality improvement literature, the value equation has been used to depict the inevitable relationship between resources expenditure and quality. ⋯ A QI system for pre-hospital critical care includes leadership involvement, multi-disciplinary buy-in, data collection infrastructure and long-term commitment. Further, integrating process control with governance systems allows evidence-based change of practice and publishing of results.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Sep 2013
EditorialThe inaugural European emergency medical dispatch conference -- a synopsis of proceedings.
The inaugural European Emergency Medical Dispatch conference was held in Stockholm, Sweden, in May 2013. We provide a synopsis of the conference proceedings, highlight key topic areas of emergency medical dispatch and suggest future research priorities.