This study assesses the operational challenges and clinical outcomes encountered by a university-based Emergency Medical Team (EMT) during the medical search and rescue (mSAR) response to the February 2023 earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş, Turkey.

In this observational study, data were retrospectively collected from 42 individuals who received mSAR services post-earthquake. The challenges were categorized as environmental, logistical, or medical, with detailed documentation of rescue times, patient demographics, injury types, and medical interventions.

In this mSAR study, 42 patients from 30 operations were analyzed and divided into environmental (26.2%), logistical (52.4%), and medical (21.4%) challenge groups. Median rescue times were 29 (IQR 28–30), 36.5 (IQR 33.75–77.75), and 30.5 (IQR 29.5–35.5) hours for each group, respectively (P = .002). Age distribution did not significantly differ across groups (P = .067). Hypothermia affected 18.2%, 45.5%, and 66.7% in the respective groups. Extremity injuries were most common in the medical group (88.9%). Intravenous access was highest in the medical group (88.9%), while splinting was more frequent in the medical (55.6%) and logistical (18.2%) groups. Hypothermia was most prevalent in the medical group (66.7%), followed by the logistical group (45.5%). Ambulance transport post-rescue was utilized for a minority in all groups.

The study concludes that logistical challenges, more than environmental or medical challenges, significantly prolong the duration of mSAR operations and exacerbate clinical outcomes like hypothermia, informing future enhancements in disaster response planning and execution.

There is significant public health interest towards providing medical care at mass-gathering events. Furthermore, mass gatherings have the potential to have a detrimental impact on the availability of already-limited municipal Emergency Medical Services (EMS) resources. This study presents a cross-sectional descriptive analysis to report broad trends regarding patients who were transported from National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 collegiate football games at a major public university in order to better inform emergency preparedness and resource planning for mass gatherings.

Patient care reports (PCRs) from ambulance transports originating from varsity collegiate football games at the University of Minnesota across six years were examined. Pertinent information was abstracted from each PCR.

Across the six years of data, there were a total of 73 patient transports originating from NCAA collegiate football games: 45.2% (n = 33) were male, and the median age was 22 years. Alcohol-related chief complaints were involved in 50.7% (n = 37) of transports. In total, 31.5% of patients had an initial Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) of less than 15. The majority (65.8%; n = 48; 0.11 per 10,000 attendees) were transported by Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulances. The remaining patients (34.2%; n = 25; 0.06 per 10,000 attendees) were transported by Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances and were more likely to be older, have abnormal vital signs, and have a lower GCS.

This analysis of ambulance transports from NCAA Division 1 collegiate football games emphasizes the prevalence of alcohol-related chief complaints, but also underscores the likelihood of more life-threatening conditions at mass gatherings. These results and additional research will help inform emergency preparedness at mass-gathering events.

Hemodynamic collapse in multi-trauma patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) poses both a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for prehospital clinicians. Brain injury associated shock (BIAS), likely resulting from catecholamine storm, can cause both ventricular dysfunction and vasoplegia but may present clinically in a manner similar to hemorrhagic shock. Despite different treatment strategies, few studies exist describing this phenomenon in the early post-injury phase. This retrospective observational study aimed to describe the frequency of shock in isolated TBI in prehospital trauma patients and to compare their clinical characteristics to those patients with hemorrhagic shock and TBI without shock.

All prehospital trauma patients intubated by prehospital medical teams from New South Wales Ambulance Aeromedical Operations (NSWA-AO) with an initial Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) of 12 or less were investigated. Shock was defined as a pre-intubation systolic blood pressure under 90mmHg and the administration of blood products or vasopressors. Injuries were classified from in-hospital computed tomography (CT) reports. From this, three study groups were derived: BIAS, hemorrhagic shock, and isolated TBI without shock. Descriptive statistics were then produced for clinical and treatment variables.

Of 1,292 intubated patients, 423 had an initial GCS of 12 or less, 24 patients (5.7% of the original cohort) had shock with an isolated TBI, and 39 patients had hemorrhagic shock. The hemodynamic parameters were similar amongst these groups, including values of tachycardia, hypotension, and elevated shock index. Prehospital clinical interventions including blood transfusion and total fluids administered were also similar, suggesting they were indistinguishable to prehospital clinicians.

Hemodynamic compromise in the setting of isolated severe TBI is a rare clinical entity. Current prehospital physiological data available to clinicians do not allow for easy delineation between these patients from those with hemorrhagic shock.

Medical professionals can use mass-casualty triage systems to assist them in prioritizing patients from mass-casualty incidents (MCIs). Correct triaging of victims will increase their chances of survival. Determining the triage system that has the best performance has proven to be a difficult question to answer. The Advanced Prehospital Triage Model (Modelo Extrahospitalario de Triaje Avanzado; META) and Sort, Assess, Lifesaving Interventions, Treatment/Transport (SALT) algorithms are the most recent triage techniques to be published. The present study aimed to evaluate the META and SALT algorithms’ performance and statistical agreement with various standards. The secondary objective was to determine whether these two MCI triage systems predicted patient outcomes, such as mortality, length-of-stay, and intensive care unit (ICU) admission.

This retrospective study used patient data from the trauma registry of an American College of Surgeons Level 1 trauma center, from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2020. The sensitivity, specificity, and statistical agreement of the META and SALT triage systems to various standards (Revised Trauma Score [RTS]/Sort Triage, Injury Severity Score [ISS], and Lerner criteria) when applied using trauma patients. Statistical analysis was used to assess the relationship between each triage category and the secondary outcomes.

A total of 3,097 cases were included in the study. Using Sort triage as the standard, SALT and META showed much higher sensitivity and specificity in the Immediate category than for Delayed (Immediate sensitivity META 91.5%, SALT 94.9%; specificity 60.8%, 72.7% versus Delayed sensitivity 28.9%, 1.3%; specificity 42.4%, 28.9%). With the Lerner criteria, in the Immediate category, META had higher sensitivity (77.1%, SALT 68.6%) but lower specificity (61.1%) than SALT (71.8%). For the Delayed category, SALT showed higher sensitivity (META 61.4%, SALT 72.2%), but lower specificity (META 75.1%, SALT 67.2%). Both systems showed a positive, though modest, correlation with ISS. For SALT and META, triaged Immediate patients tended to have higher mortality and longer ICU and hospital lengths-of-stay.

Both META and SALT triage appear to be more accurate with Immediate category patients, as opposed to Delayed category patients. With both systems, patients triaged as Immediate have higher mortality and longer lengths-of-stay when compared to Delayed patients. Further research can help refine MCI triage systems and improve accuracy.

This study aimed to determine the long-term mortality (one-year follow-up) associated with patients transferred by Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and to reveal the determinants (causes and risk factors).

This was a multicenter, prospective, observational, controlled, ambulance-based study of adult patients transferred by ambulance to emergency departments (EDs) from October 2019 through July 2021 for any cause. A total of six Advanced Life Support (ALS) units, 38 Basic Life Support (BLS) units, and five hospitals from Spain were included. Physiological, biochemical, demographic, and reasons for transfer variables were collected. A longitudinal analysis was performed to determine the factors associated to long-term mortality (any cause).

The final cohort included 1,406 patients. The one-year mortality rate was 21.6% (n = 304). Mortality over the first two days reached 5.2% of all the patients; between Day 2 and Day 30, reached 5.3%; and between Day 31 and Day 365, reached 11.1%. Low Glasgow values, elevated lactate levels, elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels, low oxygen saturation, high respiratory rate, as well as being old and suffering from circulatory diseases and neurological diseases were risk factors for long-term mortality.

The quick identification of patients at risk of long-term worsening could provide an opportunity to customize care through specific follow-up.

The early recognition of patients with sepsis is difficult and the initial assessment outside of hospitals is challenging for ambulance clinicians (ACs). Indicators that ACs can use to recognize sepsis early are beneficial for patient outcomes. Research suggests that elevated point-of-care (POC) plasma glucose and serum lactate levels may help to predict sepsis in the ambulance service (AS) setting.

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the elevation of POC plasma glucose and serum lactate levels may help to predict Sepsis-3 in the AS.

A prospective observational study was performed in the AS setting of Gothenburg in Sweden from the beginning of March 2018 through the end of September 2019. The criteria for sampling POC plasma glucose and serum lactate levels in the AS setting were high or intermediate risk according to the Rapid Emergency Triage and Treatment System (RETTS), as red, orange, yellow, and green if the respiratory rate was >22 breaths/minutes. Sepsis-3 were identified retrospectively. A primary and secondary analyses were carried out. The primary analysis included patients cared for in the AS and emergency department (ED) and were hospitalized. In the secondary analysis, patients who were only cared for in the AS and ED without being hospitalized were also included. To evaluate the predictive ability of these biomarkers, the area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were used.

A total of 1,057 patients were included in the primary analysis and 1,841 patients were included in the secondary analysis. In total, 253 patients met the Sepsis-3 criteria (in both analyses). The AUC for POC plasma glucose and serum lactate levels showed low accuracy in predicting Sepsis-3 in both the primary and secondary analyses. Among all hospitalized patients, regardless of Sepsis-3, more than two-thirds had elevated plasma glucose and nearly one-half had elevated serum lactate when measured in the AS.

As individual biomarkers, an elevated POC plasma glucose and serum lactate were not associated with an increased likelihood of Sepsis-3 when measured in the AS in this study. However, the high rate of elevation of these biomarkers before arrival in hospital highlights that their role in clinical decision making at this early stage needs further evaluation, including other endpoints than Sepsis-3.

Appropriate pain management indicates the quality of casualty care in trauma. Gender bias in pain management focused so far on the patient. Studies regarding provider gender are scarce and have conflicting results, especially in the military and prehospital settings.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of health care providers’ gender on pain management approaches among prehospital trauma casualties treated by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) medical teams.

This retrospective cohort study included all trauma casualties treated by IDF senior providers from 2015-2020. Casualties with a pain score of zero, age under 18 years, or treated with endotracheal intubation were excluded. Groups were divided according to the senior provider’s gender: only females, males, or both female and male. A multivariate analysis was performed to assess the odds ratio of receiving an analgesic, depending on the presence of a female senior provider, adjusting for potential confounders. A subgroup analysis was performed for “delta-pain,” defined as the difference in pain score during treatment.

A total of 976 casualties were included, of whom 835 (85.6%) were male. Mean pain scores (SD) for the female only, male only, and both genders providers were 6.4 (SD = 2.9), 6.4 (SD = 3.0), and 6.9 (SD = 2.8), respectively (P = .257). There was no significant difference between females, males, or both female and male groups in analgesic treatment, overall and per specific agent. This remained true also in the multivariate model. Delta-pain difference between groups was also not significant. Less than two-thirds of casualties in this study were treated for pain among all study groups.

This study found no association between IDF Medical Corps providers’ gender and pain management in prehospital trauma patients. Further studies regarding disparities in acute pain treatment are advised.

To evaluate how key aspects of New York State Ventilator Allocation Guidelines (NYSVAG)—Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score criteria and ventilator time trials —might perform with respect to the frequency of ventilator reallocation and survival to hospital discharge in a simulated cohort of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients.

Single center retrospective observational and simulation cohort study of 884 critically ill COVID-19 patients undergoing ventilator allocation per NYSVAG.

In total, 742 patients (83.9%) would have had their ventilator reallocated during the 11-day observation period, 280 (37.7%) of whom would have otherwise survived to hospital discharge if provided with a ventilator. Only 65 (18.1%) of the observed surviving patients would have survived by NYSVAG. Extending ventilator time trials from 2 to 5 days resulted in a 49.2% increase in simulated survival to discharge.

In the setting of a protracted respiratory pandemic, implementation of NYSVAG or similar protocols could lead to a high degree of ventilator reallocation, including withdrawal from patients who might otherwise survive. Longer ventilator time trials might lead to improved survival for COVID-19 patients given their protracted respiratory failure. Further studies are needed to understand the survival of patients receiving reallocated ventilators to determine whether implementation of NYSVAG would improve overall survival.

To date, there is limited evidence for health care providers regarding the determinants of early assessment of poor outcomes of adult in-patients due to earthquakes. This study aimed to explore factors related to early assessment of adult earthquake trauma patients (AETPs).

The data on 29,933 AETPs in the West China Earthquake Patients Database (WCEPD) were analyzed retrospectively. Then, 37 simple variables that could be obtained rapidly upon arrival at the hospital were collected. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analyses were performed. A nomogram was then constructed.

Nine independent mortality-related factors that contributed to AETP in-patient mortality were identified. The variables included age (OR:1.035; 95%CI, 1.027-1.044), respiratory rate ([RR]; OR:1.091; 95%CI, 1.050-1.133), pulse rate ([PR]; OR:1.028; 95%CI, 1.020-1.036), diastolic blood pressure ([DBP]; OR:0.96; 95%CI, 0.950-0.970), Glasgow Coma Scale ([GCS]; OR:0.666; 95%CI, 0.643-0.691), crush injury (OR:3.707; 95%CI, 2.166-6.115), coronary heart disease ([CHD]; OR:4.025; 95%CI, 1.869-7.859), malignant tumor (OR:4.915; 95%CI, 2.850-8.098), and chronic kidney disease ([CKD]; OR:5.735; 95%CI, 3.209-10.019).

The nine mortality-related factors for ATEPs, including age, RR, PR, DBP, GCS, crush injury, CHD, malignant tumor, and CKD, could be quickly obtained on hospital arrival and should be the focal point of future earthquake response strategies for AETPs. Based on these factors, a nomogram was constructed to screen for AETPs with a higher risk of in-patient mortality.

Police transport (PT) of penetrating trauma patients has the potential to improve survival rates. There are no well-established guidelines for PT of penetrating trauma patients.

This study examines the association between survival rate to hospital discharge of adult penetrating trauma patients and mode of transport (PT versus ground ambulance [GA]).

A retrospective, matched cohort study was conducted using the United States (US) National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB). All adult penetrating injury patients transported by police to trauma centers were identified and matched (one-to-four) to patients transported by GA for analysis. Descriptive analysis was carried out. The patients’ demographic and clinical characteristics were tabulated and stratified by the transport mode.

Out of the 733 patients with penetrating injuries, ground Emergency Medical Services (EMS) transported 513 patients and police transported 220 patients. Most patients were 16-64 years of age with a male (95.6%) and Black/African American race (79.0%) predominance. Firearm-related injuries (68.8%) were the most common mechanism of injury with the majority of injuries involving the body extremities (62.9%). Open wounds were the most common nature of injury (75.7%). The overall survival rate to hospital discharge was similar for patients transported by GA and by police (94.5% versus 92.7%; P = .343).

In this study, patients with penetrating trauma transported by police had similar outcomes to those transported by GA. As such, PT in penetrating trauma appears to be effective. Detailed protocols should be developed to further improve resource utilization and outcomes.

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are 1 of the most common reasons for young adult death and disability. This study sought to provide novel data for TBIs in Southern Punjab, as well as to identify any areas of service improvement to reduce the acute and long-term burden of this condition.

A survey in English was created, which was then circulated to members of the emergency and neurosurgical department for a 3-wk period.

A total of 450 patients (379 male [84.2%] and 71 female [15.2%]) were included as TBI admissions or attendances with a mean age of 28.9 y. Of the total, 420 people (93.2%) had experienced a TBI following a road traffic incident (RTI), with 78.7% (n = 354) of TBIs involving motorbike users who were not wearing helmets. A total of 226 (50.1%) patients arrived by car to the hospital, and 201 (44.7%) arrived by means of provincial government-funded emergency ambulance services.

TBIs in Southern Punjab mostly affect younger males involved in RTIs while riding motorbikes. Recommendations to reduce the acute and long-term burden of TBIs in this region include formal training of all hospital and prehospital staff in the management of acute trauma cases according to international guidelines and operating provincial government emergency ambulance services in a wider geographic area.

The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) was devised in 1974 as a way of tracking the progress of neurosurgical coma patients. It is comprised of three components: eye movement, response to verbal commands, and motor function. Since then, it has become the primary tool in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and emergency departments for assessing cognitive function and triaging patients in the setting of acute trauma. However, the GCS was never intended to be used in such a way. It has been demonstrated that there is a high degree of inter-rater variability when assigning GCS scores for trauma patients. Potential differences in GCS score assignments between different countries were examined. It was hypothesized there would be differences in mean total and component scores.

Using de-identified data from the Pan-Asian Trauma Outcomes Study (PATOS), the distributions of GCS scores from six countries were assessed: Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Using SPSS data analysis, a one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc tests were performed to compare the means of the three GCS components and the total GCS scores reported by EMS personnel caring for trauma patients.

Data from 15,173 cases showed significant differences in mean total GCS score between countries (P <.001) as well as in mean component GCS scores (P <.001 for each of eye, verbal, and motor). Post-hoc tests showed that EMS personnel in Korea assigned significantly lower scores compared to all other countries in both component and total GCS scores. Field personnel in Japan, Malaysia, and Vietnam assigned the highest scores and significantly differed from the other three countries on component and total scores; Thailand and Taiwan had similar scores but significantly differed from the other four countries on component and total scores. Visual inspection of mean component and total GCS score histograms revealed differences in score assignment patterns among countries.

There are a number of significant differences in the mean total and component GCS scores assigned by EMS personnel in the six Asian countries studied. More investigation is necessary to determine if there is clinical significance to these differences in GCS score assignments, as well as the reasons for the differences.

There is evidence to suggest that patients delayed seeking urgent medical care during the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A delay in health-seeking behavior could increase the disease severity of patients in the prehospital setting. The combination of COVID-19-related missions and augmented disease severity in the prehospital environment could result in an increase in the number and severity of physician-staffed prehospital interventions, potentially putting a strain on this highly specialized service.

The aim was to investigate if the COVID-19 pandemic influences the frequency of physician-staffed prehospital interventions, prehospital mortality, illness severity during prehospital interventions, and the distribution in the prehospital diagnoses.

A retrospective, multicenter cohort study was conducted on prehospital charts from March 14, 2020 through April 30, 2020, compared to the same period in 2019, in an urban area. Recorded data included demographics, prehospital diagnosis, physiological parameters, mortality, and COVID-status. A modified National Health Service (NHS) National Early Warning Score (NEWS) was calculated for each intervention to assess for disease severity. Data were analyzed with univariate and descriptive statistics.

There was a 31% decrease in physician-staffed prehospital interventions during the period under investigation in 2020 as compared to 2019 (2019: 644 missions and 2020: 446 missions), with an increase in prehospital mortality (OR = 0.646; 95% CI, 0.435 – 0.959). During the study period, there was a marked decrease in the low and medium NEWS groups, respectively, with an OR of 1.366 (95% CI, 1.036 – 1.802) and 1.376 (0.987 – 1.920). A small increase was seen in the high NEWS group, with an OR of 0.804 (95% CI, 0.566 – 1.140); 2019: 80 (13.67%) and 2020: 69 (16.46%). With an overall decrease in cases in all diagnostic categories, a significant increase was observed for respiratory illness (31%; P = .004) and cardiac arrest (54%; P < .001), combined with a significant decrease for intoxications (-58%; P = .007). Due to the national test strategy at that time, a COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) result was available in only 125 (30%) patients, of which 20 (16%) were positive.

The frequency of physician-staffed prehospital interventions decreased significantly. There was a marked reduction in interventions for lower illness severity and an increase in higher illness severity and mortality. Further investigation is needed to fully understand the reasons for these changes.

Early police transport (PT) of penetrating trauma patients has the potential to improve survival rates for trauma patients. There are no well-established guidelines for the transport of blunt trauma patients by PT currently.

This study examines the association between the survival rate of blunt trauma patients and the transport modality (police versus ground ambulance).

A retrospective, matched cohort study was conducted using the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB). All blunt trauma patients transported by police to trauma centers were identified and matched (one-to-four) to patients transported by ground Emergency Medical Services (EMS) for analysis. Descriptive analysis was carried out. This was followed by comparing all patients’ characteristics and their survival rates in terms of the mode of transportation.

Out of the 2,469 patients with blunt injuries, EMS transported 1,846 patients and police transported 623 patients. Most patients were 16-64 years of age (86.2%) with a male predominance (82.5%). Fall (38.4%) was the most common mechanism of injury with majority of injuries involving the head and neck body part (64.8%). Fractures were the most common nature of injury (62.1%). The overall survival rate of adult blunt trauma patients was similar for both methods of transportation (99.2%; P = 1.000).

In this study, adult blunt trauma patients transported by police had similar outcomes to those transported by EMS. As such, PT in trauma should be encouraged and protocolized to improve resource utilization and outcomes further.

In the absence of evidence of acute cerebral herniation, normal ventilation is recommended for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Despite this recommendation, ventilation strategies vary during the initial management of patients with TBI and may impact outcome. The goal of this systematic review was to define the best evidence-based practice of ventilation management during the initial resuscitation period.

A literature search of PubMed, CINAHL, and SCOPUS identified studies from 2009 through 2019 addressing the effects of ventilation during the initial post-trauma resuscitation on patient outcomes.

The initial search yielded 899 articles, from which 13 were relevant and selected for full-text review. Six of the 13 articles met the inclusion criteria, all of which reported on patients with TBI. Either end-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2) or partial pressure carbon dioxide (PCO2) were the independent variables associated with mortality. Decreased rates of mortality were reported in patients with normal PCO2 or ETCO2.

Normoventilation, as measured by ETCO2 or PCO2, is associated with decreased mortality in patients with TBI. Preventing hyperventilation or hypoventilation in patients with TBI during the early resuscitation phase could improve outcome after TBI.