Articles: trauma.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Feb 2025
Implementation of prehospital point-of-care ultrasound using a novel continuous feedback approach in a UK helicopter emergency medical service.
There has been increased use of prehospital point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) by helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) in recent years. Lack of governance structure and evidence of benefit have been described as major barriers to its implementation. This paper describes a novel approach to implementation of prehospital PoCUS and clinical governance framework in a UK HEMS. ⋯ Introduction of prehospital PoCUS in a HEM service utilizing high quality training, user-friendly workflow and image archiving system, robust governance framework and continuous feedback may be feasible allowing high quality ultrasound examinations. The bespoke PPPB protocol in prehospital may improve diagnosis of life-threatening injuries.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Feb 2025
ReviewPoint-of-care tests in the emergency medical services: a scoping review.
This scoping review aimed to summarize existing research on point-of-care tests (POCTs) within emergency medical services (EMS). There is a lack of comprehensive reviews covering the breadth and scope of application of POCTs in EMS despite growing interest and potential benefits in this setting. A review of the research will inform how we target future research efforts to support effective implementation and avoid duplication. ⋯ We identified a thriving base of research on POCT in the EMS, however most studies established the diagnostic accuracy of the tests with few RCTs, economic analyses or qualitative research on acceptability. The time-lag from diagnostic accuracy to developing an RCT is considerable. Investment in funding and infrastructure is needed to support the research pathway for potential POCTs beyond diagnostic accuracy to designs able to assess clinical effectiveness, acceptability and economic effectiveness.
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In recent conflicts, injuries to urogenital organs ranged from 5 to 7.2% of all combat-related injuries. Open surgery remains the main approach in combat settings, and in the French military, urgent surgical procedures are mostly performed by general surgeons with no specialization in urological care. To explore the specific needs in advanced surgery courses, we aimed to describe the epidemiology and management of genito-urinary traumas in recent conflicts in French Medical Treatment Facilities (MTFs). ⋯ This study is the first to examine genito-urinary traumas in overseas operations during French army deployments. The results highlight the relatively low incidence of urological trauma, with most injuries involving the bladder and testis. Our findings highlight the importance of equipping military surgeons with the skills necessary to manage complex cases.
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Cervical stenosis (CS) is the pathologic narrowing of the central canal of the cervical spine. It is often incidentally discovered. It is unclear whether pre-existing CS can lead to worse outcomes and higher incidences of post-traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). ⋯ Though patients with pre-existing CS do not have higher odds of SCI in studies with internal controls, we find that patients with CS do have higher incidences of SCI and are over-represented in the population of SCI patients. In select CS patients with active lifestyles, close follow-up and consideration of various treatment options may be indicated.