Scand J Trauma Resus
-
Scand J Trauma Resus · Jun 2011
ReviewEmergency department triage scales and their components: a systematic review of the scientific evidence.
Emergency department (ED) triage is used to identify patients' level of urgency and treat them based on their triage level. The global advancement of triage scales in the past two decades has generated considerable research on the validity and reliability of these scales. This systematic review aims to investigate the scientific evidence for published ED triage scales. ⋯ The ability of the individual vital signs included in the different scales to predict outcome is seldom, if at all, studied in the ED setting. The scientific evidence to assess interrater agreement (reliability) was limited for one triage scale and insufficient or lacking for all other scales. Two of the scales yielded limited scientific evidence, and one scale yielded insufficient evidence, on which to assess the risk of early death or hospitalization in patients assigned to the two lowest triage levels on a 5-level scale (validity).
-
Scand J Trauma Resus · Jun 2011
ReviewEmergency department triage scales and their components: a systematic review of the scientific evidence.
Emergency department (ED) triage is used to identify patients' level of urgency and treat them based on their triage level. The global advancement of triage scales in the past two decades has generated considerable research on the validity and reliability of these scales. This systematic review aims to investigate the scientific evidence for published ED triage scales. ⋯ The ability of the individual vital signs included in the different scales to predict outcome is seldom, if at all, studied in the ED setting. The scientific evidence to assess interrater agreement (reliability) was limited for one triage scale and insufficient or lacking for all other scales. Two of the scales yielded limited scientific evidence, and one scale yielded insufficient evidence, on which to assess the risk of early death or hospitalization in patients assigned to the two lowest triage levels on a 5-level scale (validity).
-
Scand J Trauma Resus · Mar 2011
ReviewPrognostic models for the early care of trauma patients: a systematic review.
Early identification of major trauma may contribute to timely emergency care and rapid transport to an appropriate health-care facility. Several prognostic trauma models have been developed to improve early clinical decision-making. ⋯ The general impression is that the models perform well in predicting survival. However, there are many areas for improvement, including model development, handling of missing data, analysis of continuous measures, impact and practicality analysis.
-
Scand J Trauma Resus · Mar 2011
ReviewPrognostic models for the early care of trauma patients: a systematic review.
Early identification of major trauma may contribute to timely emergency care and rapid transport to an appropriate health-care facility. Several prognostic trauma models have been developed to improve early clinical decision-making. ⋯ The general impression is that the models perform well in predicting survival. However, there are many areas for improvement, including model development, handling of missing data, analysis of continuous measures, impact and practicality analysis.
-
Scand J Trauma Resus · Jan 2011
ReviewCyanide intoxication as part of smoke inhalation--a review on diagnosis and treatment from the emergency perspective.
This paper reviews the current literature on smoke inhalation injuries with special attention to the effects of hydrogen cyanide. It is assumed that cyanide poisoning is still an overlooked diagnosis in fire victims. ⋯ Oxygen in combination with a recommended antidote should be given immediately, the first to reduce cellular hypoxia and the second to eliminate cyanide. A specific antidote is hydroxycobalamin, which can be given iv. and has few side effects.