Articles

A retrospective survey study of paramedic students’ exposure to SARS-CoV-2, participation in the COVID-19 pandemic response, and health-related quality of life

Healthcare workers have reported increased anxiety while working in hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the role of healthcare students in a health crisis has been discussed among clinicians and resear...

Authors: Kristin Häikiö, Jeanette V. Andersen, Morten Bakkerud, Carl R. Christiansen, Kim Rand and Trine Staff

Helicopter emergency medical services missions to islands and the mainland during a 3-year period in Denmark: a population-based study on patient and sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidity, and use of healthcare services

The Danish Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) is part of the Danish Emergency Medical Services System serving 5.7 million citizens with 1% living on islands not connected to the mainland by road. HEM...

Authors: Thea Palsgaard Møller, Annette Kjær Ersbøll, Thora Majlund Kjærulff, Kristine Bihrmann, Karen Alstrup, Lars Knudsen, Troels Martin Hansen, Peter Anthony Berlac, Freddy Lippert and Charlotte Barfod

The development of emergency medical services benefit score: a European Delphi study

The helicopter emergency services (HEMS) Benefit Score (HBS) is a nine-level scoring system developed to evaluate the benefits of HEMS missions. The HBS has been in clinical use for two decades in its original...

Authors: Anssi Heino, Lasse Raatiniemi, Timo Iirola, Merja Meriläinen, Janne Liisanantti and Miretta Tommila

Pre-hospital suPAR, lactate and CRP measurements for decision-making: a prospective, observational study of patients presenting non-specific complaints

In the pre-hospital setting, non-urgent patients with non-specific chief complaints pose assessment challenges for the emergency medical systems (EMS). Severely ill patients should be identified among these pa...

Authors: Milla Jousi, Marja Mäkinen, Johanna Kaartinen, Leena Meriläinen and Maaret Castrén

Correction to: Symptoms presented during emergency telephone calls for patients with spontaneous subarachnoid haemorrhage

Authors: Asger Sonne, Sarita Egholm, Laurits Elgaard, Niklas Breindahl, Alice Herrlin Jensen, Vagn Eskesen, Freddy Lippert, Frans Boch Waldorf, Nicolai Lohse and Lars Simon Rasmussen

Exploring safety culture in the Finnish ambulance service with Emergency Medical Services Safety Attitudes Questionnaire

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is, by its nature, a challenging context that may create risks for both patients and employees. It is also known that an organisation’s safety culture has an influence on both ...

Authors: Anu Venesoja, Veronica Lindström, Pasi Aronen, Maaret Castrén and Susanna Tella

Reliability of prognostic biomarkers after prehospital extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation with target temperature management

Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) performed at the emergency scene in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) can minimize low-flow time. Target temperature management (TTM) after cardiac arres...

Authors: Walter Petermichl, Alois Philipp, Karl-Anton Hiller, Maik Foltan, Bernhard Floerchinger, Bernhard Graf and Dirk Lunz

Tracheal intubation with video laryngoscopy in out-of-hospital sitting

Authors: Bin Hu, Tian Tian and Fu-Shan Xue

Deep-learning model for screening sepsis using electrocardiography

Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction and a major healthcare burden worldwide. Although sepsis is a medical emergency that requires immediate management, screening for the occurrence of sepsis is diff...

Authors: Joon-myoung Kwon, Ye Rang Lee, Min-Seung Jung, Yoon-Ji Lee, Yong-Yeon Jo, Da-Young Kang, Soo Youn Lee, Yong-Hyeon Cho, Jae-Hyun Shin, Jang-Hyeon Ban and Kyung-Hee Kim

Performance of NEWS2, RETTS, clinical judgment and the Predict Sepsis screening tools with respect to identification of sepsis among ambulance patients with suspected infection: a prospective cohort study

There is little evidence of which sepsis screening tool to use in the ambulance setting. The primary aim of the current study was to compare the performance of NEWS2 (National Early Warning score 2) and RETTS ...

Authors: Ulrika M. Wallgren, Jan Sjölin, Hans Järnbert-Pettersson and Lisa Kurland

Correction to: CPR with restricted patient access using alternative rescuer positions: a randomised cross-over manikin study simulating the CPR scenario after avalanche burial

Authors: Bernd Wallner, Luca Moroder, Hannah Salchner, Peter Mair, Stefanie Wallner, Gabriel Putzer, Giacomo Strapazzon, Markus Falk and Hermann Brugger

The impact of selection criteria and study design on reported survival outcomes in extracorporeal oxygenation cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR): a systematic review and meta-analysis

The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) during cardiac arrest (ECPR) has increased exponentially. However, reported outcomes vary considerably due to differing study designs and selection criteri...

Authors: Sameer Karve, Dominique Lahood, Arne Diehl, Aidan Burrell, David H. Tian, Tim Southwood, Paul Forrest and Mark Dennis

Use of troponin assay after electrical injuries: a 15-year multicentre retrospective cohort in emergency departments

Patients with electrical injury are considered to be at risk of cardiac arrhythmia. Assessing the risk of developing a major adverse cardiac event (MACE) is the cornerstone of patient management. The aim of th...

Authors: Douillet Delphine, Kalwant Stéphanie, Amro Yara, Gicquel Benjamin, Arnaudet Idriss, Savary Dominique, Le Bastard Quentin and Javaudin François

The Great Belt train accident: the emergency medical services response

Major incidents (MI) are rare occurrences in Scandinavia. Literature depicting Scandinavian MI management is scarce and case reports and research is called for. In 2019, a trailer falling off a freight train s...

Authors: Peter Martin Hansen, Søren Bruun Jepsen, Søren Mikkelsen and Marius Rehn

The TEAM instrument for measuring emergency team performance: validation of the Swedish version at two emergency departments

The Team Emergency Assessment Measure (TEAM) questionnaire is designed for rating the non-technical performance of emergency medical teams during emergencies, e.g., resuscitation or trauma management. Original...

Authors: Klas Karlgren, Anders Dahlström, Anderz Birkestam, Annelie Drevstam Norling, Gustav Forss, Mikael Andersson Franko, Simon Cooper, Thomas Leijon and Charlotta Paulsson

How senior paramedics decide to cease resuscitation in pulseless electrical activity out of hospital cardiac arrest: a mixed methods study

Evidenced-based guidelines on when to cease resuscitation for pulseless electrical activity are limited and support for paramedics typically defaults to the senior clinician. Senior clinicians include paramedi...

Authors: Ali Coppola, Sarah Black and Ruth Endacott

Pre-hospital management of penetrating neck injuries: a scoping review of current evidence and guidance

Penetrating injuries to the neck pose a unique challenge to clinicians due to the proximity of multiple significant anatomical structures with little protective soft tissue coverage. Injuries to this area, whi...

Authors: Christopher Simpson, Harriet Tucker and Anthony Hudson

Ketamine versus propofol for rapid sequence induction in trauma patients: a retrospective study

Rapid Sequence Induction (RSI) is used for emergency tracheal intubation to minimise the risk of pulmonary aspiration of stomach contents. Ketamine and propofol are two commonly used induction agents for RSI i...

Authors: Niklas Breindahl, Josefine Baekgaard, Rasmus Ejlersgaard Christensen, Alice Herrlin Jensen, Andreas Creutzburg, Jacob Steinmetz and Lars S. Rasmussen

Effect of 2020 containment strategies on trauma workflow in Ile-de-France region: another benefit of lockdown?

During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the French Government imposed various containment strategies, such as severe lockdown (SL) or moderate lockdown (ML). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of both st...

Authors: Jean-Denis Moyer, Paer-Selim Abback, Sophie Hamada, Thibault Martinez, Marie Werner and Arthur James

Incidence of hyperoxia in trauma patients receiving pre-hospital emergency anaesthesia: results of a 5-year retrospective analysis

Previous studies have demonstrated an association between hyperoxia and increased mortality in various patient groups. Critically unwell and injured patients are routinely given high concentration oxygen in th...

Authors: P. Leitch, A. L. Hudson, J. E. Griggs, R. Stolmeijer, R. M. Lyon and E. ter Avest

The elderly age criterion for increased in-hospital mortality in trauma patients: a retrospective cohort study

With an aging population, the number of elderly individuals exposed to traumatic injuries is increasing. The elderly age criterion for traumatic injuries has been inconsistent in the literature. This study aim...

Authors: Ji Hwan Lee, Min Joung Kim, Ju Young Hong, Jinwoo Myung, Yun Ho Roh and Sung Phil Chung

Beta-blockade is not associated with improved outcomes in isolated severe extracranial injury: an observational cohort study

There is evidence supporting the use of beta-blockade in patients with traumatic brain injury. The reduction in sympathetic drive is thought to underlie the relationship between beta-blockade and increased sur...

Authors: Lin Sadi, Gabriel Sjölin and Rebecka Ahl Hulme

One out of three bystanders of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests shows signs of pathological psychological processing weeks after the incident - results from structured telephone interviews

Witnessing an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a traumatic experience. This study analyses bystanders` psychological processing of OHCA. We examined the potential impact of bystanders performing resusc...

Authors: Peter Brinkrolf, Bibiana Metelmann, Camilla Metelmann, Mina Baumgarten, Carolin Scharte, Alexander Zarbock, Klaus Hahnenkamp and Andreas Bohn

Trauma care during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands: a level 1 trauma multicenter cohort study

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused major healthcare challenges worldwide resulting in an exponential increase in the need for hospital- and intensive care support for COVID-19 patients. As a result...

Authors: Nadia A. G. Hakkenbrak, Sverre A. I. Loggers, Eva Lubbers, Jarik de Geus, Stefan F. van Wonderen, Eva Berkeveld, Sarah Mikdad, Georgios F. Giannakopoulos, Kees J. Ponsen and Frank W. Bloemers

CPR with restricted patient access using alternative rescuer positions: a randomised cross-over manikin study simulating the CPR scenario after avalanche burial

The aim of this manikin study was to evaluate the quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with restricted patient access during simulated avalanche rescue using over-the-head and straddle position as co...

Authors: Bernd Wallner, Luca Moroder, Hannah Salchner, Peter Mair, Stefanie Wallner, Gabriel Putzer, Giacomo Strapazzon, Markus Falk and Hermann Brugger

Point-of-care testing in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a retrospective analysis of relevance and consequences

Metabolic and electrolyte imbalances are some of the reversible causes of cardiac arrest and can be diagnosed even in the pre-hospital setting with a mobile analyser for point-of-care testing (POCT).

Authors: Tobias Gruebl, B. Ploeger, E. Wranze-Bielefeld, M. Mueller, W. Schmidbauer, C. Kill and S. Betz

Evaluation of elderly specific pre-hospital trauma triage criteria: a systematic review

Pre-hospital identification of major trauma in elderly patients is key for delivery of optimal care, however triage of this group is challenging. Elderly-specific triage criteria may be valuable. This systemat...

Authors: Adam J. Boulton, Donna Peel, Usama Rahman and Elaine Cole

Idle peripheral intravenous cannulation: an observational cohort study of pre-hospital and emergency department practices

Unused ('idle') peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVC) are those not used within 24 hours of insertion. There is little data on cannulation practices and idle PIVC rates in emergency settings, especially the pre...

Authors: Hugo Evison, Amy Sweeny, Jamie Ranse, Mercedes Carrington, Nicole Marsh, Joshua Byrnes, Claire M. Rickard, Peter J. Carr and Gerben Keijzers

Pre-injury dispensing of psychoactive prescription drugs in a ten years trauma population: a retrospective registry analysis

The use of psychoactive prescription drugs is associated with increased risk of traumatic injury, and has negative impact on clinical outcome in trauma patients. Previous studies have focused on specific drugs...

Authors: Henrik Andreas Torp, Svetlana Skurtveit, Nils Oddvar Skaga, Ingebjørg Gustavsen, Jon Michael Gran and Leiv Arne Rosseland

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) practices in the helicopter emergency medical services in Europe: results of an online survey

The extent to which Point-of-care of ultrasound (POCUS) is used in different European helicopter EMS (HEMS) is unknown. We aimed to study the availability, perception, and future aspects of POCUS in the Europe...

Authors: Peter Hilbert-Carius, Manuel F. Struck, Marcus Rudolph, Jürgen Knapp, Leif Rognås, Jörn Adler, Cor Slagt, Lars Jacobsen, Henryk Pich, Michael D. Christian, Didier Dandrifosse and Fikri M. Abu-Zidan

Incidence of delayed bleeding in patients on antiplatelet therapy after mild traumatic brain injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The scientific evidence regarding the risk of delayed intracranial bleeding (DB) after mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) in patients administered an antiplatelet agent (APA) is scant and incomplete. In additi...

Authors: Giorgio Colombo, Mattia Bonzi, Elisa Fiorelli, Alessandro Jachetti, Viviana Bozzano, Giovanni Casazza, Monica Solbiati and Giorgio Costantino

A comprehensive description of self-reported health and life satisfaction in cardiac arrest survivors

Self-reported health and life satisfaction are considered important outcomes in people surviving cardiac arrest. However, most previous studies have reported limited aspects on health, often based on composite...

Authors: Patrik Hellström, Kristofer Årestedt and Johan Israelsson

Discharge from the trauma centre: exposure to opioids, unmet information needs and lack of follow up—a qualitative study among physical trauma survivors

Physical trauma is associated with mortality, long-term pain and morbidity. Effective pain management is fundamental in trauma care and opioids are indispensable for treating acute pain; however, the use and m...

Authors: Jeanette Finstad, Olav Røise, Leiv Arne Rosseland, Thomas Clausen and Ingrid Amalia Havnes

Decision-making by medical officer in charge during major incidents: a qualitative study

An incident command structure is commonly used to manage responses to major incidents. In the hospital incident command structure, the medical officer in charge (MOC) is in a key position. The decision-making ...

Authors: Karin Hugelius, Monica Rådestad, H. Al-Dhahir and L. Kurland

A translational triage research development tool: standardizing prehospital triage decision-making systems in mass casualty incidents

There is no global consensus on the use of prehospital triage system in mass casualty incidents. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the most commonly used pre-existing prehospital triage systems for the...

Authors: Amir Khorram-Manesh, Johan Nordling, Eric Carlström, Krzysztof Goniewicz, Roberto Faccincani and Frederick M. Burkle

Symptoms presented during emergency telephone calls for patients with spontaneous subarachnoid haemorrhage

A spontaneous subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is one of the most critical neurological emergencies a dispatcher can face in an emergency telephone call. No study has yet investigated which symptoms are presente...

Authors: Asger Sonne, Sarita Egholm, Laurits Elgaard, Niklas Breindahl, Alice Herrlin Jensen, Vagn Eskesen, Freddy Lippert, Frans Boch Waldorff, Nicolai Lohse and Lars Simon Rasmussen

Simultaneous external validation of various cardiac arrest prognostic scores: a single-center retrospective study

This study aimed to compare and validate the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA); cardiac arrest hospital prognosis (CAHP); non-shockable rhythm, unwitnessed arrest, long no-flow or long low-flow period, blo...

Authors: Takumi Tsuchida, Kota Ono, Kunihiko Maekawa, Takeshi Wada, Kenichi Katabami, Tomonao Yoshida and Mineji Hayakawa

Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor and lactate as prognostic biomarkers in patients presenting with non-specific chief complaints in the pre-hospital setting – the PRIUS-study

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are faced daily with patients presenting with non-specific chief complaints (NSC). Patients presenting with NSCs often have normal vital signs. It has previously been establish...

Authors: Robert Ivic, Jouni Nurmi, Lisa Kurland, Veronica Vicente, Veronica Lindström, Therese Djärv, Johanna Kaartinen, Maaret Castrén and Katarina Bohm

Survival and long-term outcomes following in-hospital cardiac arrest in a Swiss university hospital: a prospective observational study

Incidence of in-hospital cardiac arrest is reported to be 0.8 to 4.6 per 1,000 patient admissions. Patient survival to hospital discharge with favourable functional and neurological status is around 21–30%. Th...

Authors: Alexander Fuchs, Dominic Käser, Lorenz Theiler, Robert Greif, Jürgen Knapp and Joana Berger-Estilita

Patient outcomes after electrical injury – a retrospective study

People exposed to electrical injuries are often admitted to hospital for observation. Current evidence suggests that patients who have a normal ECG on admission after a low-voltage injury, with no loss of cons...

Authors: Jamal Ahmed, Charlotte Stenkula, Sherwan Omar, Josef Ghanima, Fredrik Førsund Bremtun, Jonas Bergan, Nezar Raouf and Waleed Ghanima

Primary versus early secondary referral to a specialized neurotrauma center in patients with moderate/severe traumatic brain injury: a CENTER TBI study

Prehospital care for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) varies with some emergency medical systems recommending direct transport of patients with moderate to severe TBI to hospitals with specialist neu...

Authors: Charlie Aletta Sewalt, Benjamin Yaël Gravesteijn, David Menon, Hester Floor Lingsma, Andrew I. R. Maas, Nino Stocchetti, Esmee Venema and Fiona E. Lecky

The contribution of helicopter emergency medical services in the pre-hospital care of penetrating torso injuries in a semi-rural setting

Although the merit of pre-hospital critical care teams such as Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) has been universally recognized for patients with penetrating torso injuries who present with unstabl...

Authors: M. Gavrilovski, J. E. Griggs, E. ter Avest and R. M. Lyon

An Approved Landing Site (ALS) improves the logistics of interhospital transfer of critically ill patients by helicopter

The COVID-19 pandemic limited hospital resources and necessitated interhospital transport of ICU-patients in order to provide critical care to all patients in the Netherlands. However, not all hospitals have a...

Authors: Geert-Jan van Geffen, Ed J. Spoelder, Amanda Tijben and Cornelis Slagt

Collaboration between emergency physicians and citizen responders in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest resuscitation

Citizen responder programmes dispatch volunteer citizens to initiate resuscitation in nearby out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) before the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arrival. Little is known about th...

Authors: Anne-Sofie Linde Jellestad, Fredrik Folke, Rune Molin, Rasmus Meyer Lyngby, Carolina Malta Hansen and Linn Andelius

Correction to: Ambulance deceleration causes increased intra cranial pressure in supine position: a prospective observational proof of principle study

Authors: Iscander M. Maissan, Boris Vlottes, Sanne Hoeks, Jan Bosch, Robert Jan Stolker and Dennis den Hartog

The role of cervical collars and verbal instructions in minimising spinal movement during self-extrication following a motor vehicle collision - a biomechanical study using healthy volunteers

Motor vehicle collisions account for 1.3 million deaths and 50 million serious injuries worldwide each year. However, the majority of people involved in such incidents are uninjured or have injuries which do n...

Authors: Tim Nutbeam, Rob Fenwick, Barbara May, Willem Stassen, Jason E. Smith, Lee Wallis, Mike Dayson and James Shippen

Evaluating a training intervention for improving alignment between emergency medical telephone operators and callers: a pilot study of communication behaviours

Calls to emergency medical lines are an essential component in the chain of survival. Operators make critical decisions based on information they elicit from callers. Although smooth cooperation is necessary, ...

Authors: Jennifer Gerwing, Jon Erik Steen-Hansen, Trond Mjaaland, Bård Fossli Jensen, Olav Eielsen, Owen Matthew Truscott Thomas and Pål Gulbrandsen

The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach: a case of myocardial infarction mimic and pseudo-tamponade in a polytrauma patient

There exists a therapeutic conflict between haemorrhage control and prevention of thromboembolic events following polytrauma and complications are not uncommon. Such opposing therapies can result in unexpected...

Authors: Mathew Brun, Shane Brun, David Pearson and Martin Wullschleger

Assessing unrealised potential for organ donation after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

Organ donation after brain death is the standard practice in many countries. Rates are low globally. This study explores the potential national number of candidates for uncontrolled donations after cardiac dea...

Authors: Andrew Fu Wah Ho, Timothy Xin Zhong Tan, Ejaz Latiff, Nur Shahidah, Yih Yng Ng, Benjamin Sieu-Hon Leong, Shir Lynn Lim, Pin Pin Pek, Han Nee Gan, Desmond Renhao Mao, Michael Yih Chong Chia, Si Oon Cheah, Lai Peng Tham and Marcus Eng Hock Ong

Comparing methods to secure a tracheal tube placed via a surgical cricothyroidotomy: a randomised controlled study in cadavers

In the ‘can’t intubate can’t oxygenate’ scenario, techniques to achieve front of neck access to the airway have been described in the literature but there is a lack of guidance on the optimal method for securi...

Authors: Christopher J Groombridge, Amit Maini, Joseph Mathew, Yesul Kim, Mark Fitzgerald, De Villiers Smit and Gerard O’Reilly