Physician roles in tactical emergency medical support: the first 20 years.

BACKGROUND: The benefits of Tactical Emergency Medical Support (TEMS) elements are providing injury prevention, immediate care of injuries, and medical augmentation of the success of dangerous law enforcement operations. TEMS is recognized by civilian Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and various other law enforcement agencies around the country as a vital addition to such SWAT teams. The integration of specially trained TEMS personnel has become a key component of law enforcement special operations. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to review the published literature to identify if there is a role for physicians within TEMS elements with regard to its establishment and progression, and to characterize the level of physician-specific support provided in the tactical environment for civilian tactical law enforcement teams. DISCUSSION: Physician presence as part of TEMS elements is increasing in number and popularity as the realization of the benefits provided by such physicians has become more apparent. The inclusion of physicians as active and participating members of TEMS elements is a critical measure to be taken for tactical law enforcement units. Physicians provide an added level of medical expertise to TEMS elements in rural and urban settings compared with law enforcement personnel with medic training. CONCLUSIONS: Physician involvement is an essential element of a successful TEMS program. There is a need for more physicians to become involved as TEMS personnel for specialized tactical teams to spread the time commitment and increase their availability to tactical units on a daily basis.

A pilot study of the use of kaolin-impregnated gauze (Combat Gauze) for packing high-grade hepatic injuries in a hypothermic coagulopathic swine model.

BACKGROUND: Severe hepatic injuries may be highly lethal, and perihepatic packing remains the mainstay of treatment. This is not always successful, particularly in the setting of hypothermia and coagulopathy. Kaolin-impregnated Combat Gauze (CG) is an effective hemostatic dressing used primarily to treat external wounds. The objective of this study was to determine the ability of CG to control severe hemorrhage in hypothermic, coagulopathic swine with a high-grade hepatic injury. METHODS: Anesthetized animals underwent splenectomy and were cooled to 32°C while undergoing a 60% exchange transfusion with Hextend. A grade V liver injury was created in the left middle hepatic lobe. Animals were allowed to freely bleed for 30 s and then randomized to treatment with CG or plain gauze laparotomy pads (PG) applied to the injury site. Animals were then resuscitated with warmed Hextend. RESULTS: There was no difference between groups in preinjury hemodynamic or laboratory values. Animals packed with CG had less blood loss when compared with standard packing (CG = 25 mL/kg versus PG = 58 mL/kg, P = 0.05). There was a trend towards lower hetastarch resuscitation requirements in the CG group (CG = 7 mL/kg versus PG = 44 mL/kg, P = 0.06) but no statistically significant difference in mortality (CG = 13% versus PG = 50%, P = 0.11). Histology of the injury sites revealed more adherent clot in the CG group, but no inflammation, tissue necrosis, or residual material. CONCLUSION: In pigs with severe hepatic injury, Combat Gauze reduced blood loss and resuscitation requirements when compared with plain laparotomy pads. Combat Gauze may be safe and effective for use on severe liver injuries.

Trauma and substance abuse: deadly consequences of intravenous percocet tablets.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of drug or alcohol addiction among trauma patients approaches 40%, yet many require narcotics during admission for adequate pain control. Provider awareness is the most reasonable option to avoid the devastating consequence of narcotic tablet injection. OBJECTIVE: To illustrate the misuse of oral narcotics and to heighten provider awareness of a potential cause for acute respiratory failure in recently discharged patients. CASE REPORT: A 20-year-old man was admitted to the hospital after an assault to the head and face. He was discharged from the hospital with 30 oral Percocet® (Endo Pharmaceuticals, Newark, DE) tablets after 24 h of observation. The day after discharge, emergency medical services were called to his residence for a decreased level of consciousness. During transport to the Emergency Department, he went into cardiac arrest with pulseless electrical activity. He could not be resuscitated. Postmortem biochemical and anatomical evidence suggested that the patient had attempted to inject crushed Percocet® tablets, which resulted in acute foreign body pulmonary microembolism and death. CONCLUSION: Patients with a history of substance abuse may be inclined to crush and inject oral narcotics. Narcotic injection should be considered in recently discharged patients who present with pulmonary failure. Patients with suspected narcotic addiction should be counseled before discharge on the risks of misusing oral medications in this fashion.

Identification of low-risk patients with traumatic brain injury and intracranial hemorrhage who do not need intensive care unit admission.

BACKGROUND: Patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and traumatic intracranial hemorrhage are frequently admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) but never require critical care interventions. Improved ICU triage in this patient population can improve resource utilization and decrease health care costs. We sought to identify a low-risk group of patients with TBI who do not require admission to an ICU. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of adult patients with TBI and traumatic intracranial hemorrhage. The need for ICU admission was defined as the presence of a critical care intervention. Patients were considered low risk if there was no critical care intervention before hospital admission. Measured outcomes included delayed critical care interventions at 48 hours and during hospitalization, mortality, and emergency surgery. RESULTS: A total of 187 of 320 patients were considered low risk. In the low-risk group, two patients (1.1%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.1-3.8) had a delayed critical care intervention within 48 hours of admission and four patients (2.1%; 95% CI, 0.6-5.4) after 48 hours of admission. Two patients (1.1%; 95% CI, 0-3.8) in the low-risk group died. No patients in the low-risk group required neurosurgical intervention. CONCLUSION: Patients with TBI without a critical care intervention before admission are at low risk for requiring future critical care interventions. Future studies are required to validate if this low-risk criteria can serve as a safe, cost-effective triage tool for ICU admission.

Preliminary study of the effects of smectite granules (WoundStat) on vascular repair and wound healing in a swine survival model.

BACKGROUND: WoundStat (WS) (TraumaCure, Bethesda, MD) is a topical hemostatic agent that effectively stops severe hemorrhage in animal models. To the best of our knowledge, no survival study has been conducted to ensure long-term product safety. We evaluated vascular patency and tissue responses to WS in a swine femoral artery injury model with survival up to 5 weeks. METHODS: Anesthetized swine received a standardized femoral artery injury with free hemorrhage for 45 seconds followed by WS application. One hour after application, the WS was removed, the wound copiously irrigated, and the artery repaired using a vein patch. Six groups of three animals received WS and were killed either immediately after surgery or at weekly intervals up to 5 weeks. Three control animals were treated with gauze packing and direct pressure followed by identical vascular repair and survival for 1 week. At the time of killing, angiograms were performed, and tissue was collected for histopathology. RESULTS: Hemostasis was complete in all WS animals. All animals survived the procedure, and there were no clinically evident postoperative complications. Vascular repairs were angiographically patent in 15 of 18 animals (83%) receiving WS. Histopathologic examination of WS animals revealed severe diffuse fibrogranulomatous inflammation, early endothelial degeneration with subsequent intimal hyperplasia, moderate myocyte necrosis, and fibrogranulomatous nerve entrapment with axonal degeneration. CONCLUSION: Although an effective hemostatic agent, WS use was associated with a substantial local inflammatory response and neurovascular changes up to 5 weeks postinjury.

Lack of Insurance is Associated With Increased Risk for Hernia Complications.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine whether lack of insurance is associated with an increased likelihood of presenting to a hospital with a complicated hernia, and whether insurance status might be associated with clinical outcomes. CONTEXT: Delays in elective repair of hernias appear to increase the likelihood of emergency presentation, morbidity, and mortality. Lack of access due to insurance status is a plausible contributor to such delays. METHODS: This retrospective study evaluated ambulatory surgical and inpatient hospitalization data from January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2006 in California. Patients who presented for a inguinal, umbilical, or ventral hernia repair or were hospitalized primarily related to the hernia, were at least 5 years old, and had Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California), Medicare, private, or no insurance were included. The main outcome is presentation with a hernia involving bowel obstruction or gangrene, sepsis, or peritonitis. Secondary outcomes evaluated were inpatient mortality, length of hospital stay, and nonoperative management. RESULTS: Out of 147,665 encounters involving hernias, 13,254 (9.0%) involved presentation with a complicated hernia. While only 4.7% of encounters among patients with private insurance were for complicated hernias, 21.1% of those for patients without insurance involved complicated hernias (odds ratio [OR]: 7.02, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.05-9.76). Uninsured patients experienced greater mortality (OR: 2.30, 95% CI: 1.01-5.24), lengths of hospital stay (incidence rate ratio: 3.34, 95% CI: 2.61-4.26), and were less likely to undergo operative management (OR: 0.16, 95% CI: 0.11-0.22) than those with private insurance. CONCLUSIONS: Lack of insurance is associated with a greater likelihood of presenting with a complicated inguinal, umbilical, or ventral hernia and increased mortality among all patients presenting with hernias at these anatomic sites.

Pharmacologic support of the failing heart.

Cardiovascular failure in critically ill patients carries a high mortality. Identification and treatment of the underlying etiology simultaneously with prompt therapy are indicated to avoid the consequences of prolonged shock. Physicians should assess patients using all available clinical, radiologic, and laboratory data to avoid the pitfalls associated with use of single measures of regional or global perfusion. Continued evidence of inadequate perfusion despite fluid resuscitation warrants consideration of placement of a pulmonary artery catheter or pharmacologic support of the cardiovascular system. Finally, the dynamic nature of physiology in critically ill patients requires constant patient reassessment and flexibility in treatment to tailor therapy individually as the pathologic state evolves.

Occult pretransplantation systemic inflammation and posttransplantation vascular changes in a primate arterial allograft model.

BACKGROUND: Occult systemic inflammation, as manifested by increased levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), identify patients at increased risk for renal allograft rejection. The mechanisms linking occult systemic inflammation to these adverse outcomes remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the anatomic and physiologic effects of occult pretransplantation systemic inflammation on posttransplantation allograft outcome in a nonhuman primate model. METHODS: Seventy-one healthy male Rhesus macaques were stratified into quartiles based on serum CRP. Five high quartile and six low quartile animals underwent common iliac artery transplantation from male donors. Duplex ultrasound measured graft flow at 3 weeks postoperatively; luminal narrowing was assessed by graft/femoral peak systolic velocity ratio. At 6 weeks, the grafts were harvested and morphometry studies were performed. Vessel wall changes were assessed by measuring the intimal medial area. RESULTS: The allografts placed in high CRP quartile animals had more luminal narrowing by 3 weeks than those placed in low quartile animals, as evidenced by a higher mean graft/femoral peak systolic velocity ratio (1.6 vs. 0.90, P=0.006). Morphometry studies after graft harvest showed increased vessel wall area in the high quartile group versus the low quartile group (1.39 mm vs. 1.03 mm, P=0.018). CONCLUSIONS: Occult pretransplantation systemic inflammation is associated with increased intimal thickening and stenosis after arterial allograft transplantation in a primate model. Additional studies are needed to confirm these results and to further investigate potential mechanisms linking pretransplantation systemic inflammation to adverse outcomes after transplantation.

Operator Training and TEMS Support: A Survey of Unit Leaders in Northern and Central California.

BACKGROUND: Members of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams routinely work in high-risk tactical situations. Awareness of the benefit of Tactical Emergency Medical Support (TEMS) is increasing but not uniformly emphasized. OBJECTIVES: To characterize the current regional state of tactical medicine and identify potential barriers to more widespread implementation. METHODS: A multiple-choice survey was administered to SWAT team leaders of 22 regional agencies in northern and central California. Questions focused on individual officer self-aid and buddy care training, the use and content of individual first aid kits (IFAKs), and the operational inclusion of a dedicated TEMS provider. RESULTS: Respondents included city police (54%), local county sheriff (36%), state law enforcement (5%), and federal law enforcement (5%). RESULTS showed that 100% of respondents thought it was ?Very Important? for SWAT officers to understand the basics of self-aid and buddy care and to carry an IFAK, while only 71% of respondents indicated that team members actually carried an IFAK. In addition, 67% indicated that tourniquets were part of the IFAK, and 91% of surveyed team leaders thought it was ?Very Important? for teams to have a trained medic available onsite at callouts or high-risk warrant searches. Also, 59% of teams used an organic TEMS element. CONCLUSION: The majority of SWAT team leaders recognize the benefit of basic Operator medical training and the importance of a TEMS program. Despite near 100% endorsement by unit-level leadership, a significant proportion of teams are lacking one of the key components including Operator IFAKs and/or tourniquets. Tactical team leaders, administrators, and providers should continue to promote adequate Operator training and equipment as well as formal TEMS support.

Identification of barriers to adaptation of battlefield technologies into civilian trauma in California.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the adoption of routine battlefield medical techniques (tourniquets, hemostatic agents, and tactical combat casualty care into civilian prehospital trauma care and to identify the barriers to their use in the state of California through anonymous electronic survey of local emergency medical services agency (LEMSA) directors. RESULTS: The response rate for this survey was 50% (14/28). The majority of LEMSA directors (86%) were emergency medicine physicians. Tourniquets were used by 57% of respondents. The top three reasons cited for not using tourniquets included different injury patterns in civilian trauma, no proven benefit of use, and increased risk of complications. Hemostatic agents were used even less frequently in civilian practice (7%) but had similar barriers to use. Only 36% of LEMSA directors use tactical combat casualty care with tactical emergency medical services, but when used, respondents had higher usage of tourniquets. Overall lack of training, no proven benefit, and expense were the reasons cited for not incorporating military medical techniques. CONCLUSIONS: Tourniquets, hemostatic agents, and tactical medical care are the integral components of battlefield medicine and have been lifesaving in these settings. The barriers to this transition are multifactorial. Physicians familiar with these technologies should become advocates for their integration in civilian trauma patient care.

Use of SternaLock plating system in acute treatment of unstable traumatic sternal fractures.

Optimal surgical treatment of unstable sternal fractures is controversial. Wiring provides suboptimal fixation and adaptations of existing non-sternum specific plating systems may be dangerous when rapid sternal reentry is required. We present our experience with the sternal specific fixation system, SternaLock (Biomet Microfixation Inc, Jacksonville, FL), in the acute treatment of transverse sternal body fractures in 2 patients who sustained significant blunt anterior chest wall trauma. SternaLock provides the rigid sternal fixation necessary for reliable fracture healing while offering advantages over other systems with regards to ease of use and safety.

Use of flexion and extension radiographs of the cervical spine to rule out acute instability in patients with negative computed tomography scans.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the usefulness of flexion and extension radiographs of the cervical spine as a screening tool for the acute evaluation of ligamentous injury in cases of awake blunt trauma in patients with a negative cervical computed tomography scan. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study of consecutive patient series. SETTING: Level I trauma center. PATIENTS: All patients admitted to an academic Level I trauma center over 12 months who sustained a blunt force injury and underwent flexion-extension radiography during hospitalization. INTERVENTION: The flexion-extension radiographs were interpreted for adequacy and pathology by two independent reviewers who were blinded to patient outcome and the original radiologic interpretation. Adequacy of radiographs was assessed using four criteria: 1) complete visualization of the cervical spine from the occiput to the superior end plate of the first thoracic vertebra; 2) adequate range of flexion and extension was defined as motion greater than 30° from the neutral position; 3) supplementation with a swimmer's view if the cervicothoracic junction was poorly visualized; and 4) no evidence of rotational deformity on neutral, flexion, or extension views. Radiographs were thus deemed either "adequate" or "inadequate." Acute instability was defined as listhesis of greater than 3.5 mm or 11° of relative angulation. Radiologists' interpretation of all studies was noted and any clinical or radiographic evidence of instability on follow-up within 3 months of discharge was also recorded. RESULTS: A total of 311 patients were included in the study. The intraobserver reliability for the four fixed criteria for adequacy of flexion and extension radiographs was excellent. Only 97 (31%) flexion and extension radiographs were deemed adequate. Two hundred fourteen (69%) patient radiographs were deemed inadequate but were interpreted as normal by the radiologists. Not a single radiograph was identified with evidence of acute instability (true-positive = 0). One hundred seventy-one (55%) of patients had follow-up within 3 months of discharge from the hospital of which one (0.5%) patient developed signs of instability necessitating surgery. The sensitivity was 0%, specificity 99%, positive predictive value 0%, and negative predictive value 31%. CONCLUSION: Flexion and extension radiographs do not appear to be clinically useful in assessing acute instability in patients hospitalized with blunt trauma with negative computed tomography scans.

Transfusion practices for acute traumatic brain injury: a survey of physicians at US trauma centers.

PURPOSE: To determine whether physician specialty influences transfusion threshold in patients with acute severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: We surveyed transfusion preferences of chiefs of trauma surgery, chairs of neurosurgery, and surgical and neurosurgical ICU directors at all 187 US Level I trauma centers using a scenario-based, multiple-choice instrument administered by mail. We evaluated the hemoglobin value used as a transfusion threshold for patients with severe acute TBI in several scenarios as well as opinions regarding the rationale for transfusion. RESULTS: The response rate was 58% (312/534). Mean time in practice was 17 +/- 8 years and 65% were board certified in critical care. Neurosurgeons (NS) used a greater mean hemoglobin threshold for transfusion of TBI patients than trauma surgeons (TS) and non-surgeon intensivists (CC) whether the intracranial pressure was normal (8.3 +/- 1.2, 7.5 +/- 1.0, and 7.5 +/- 0.8 g/dL; NS, TS, and CC, respectively, P < 0.001) or elevated (8.9 +/- 1.1, 8.0 +/- 1.1, and 8.4 +/- 1.1 g/dL; NS, TS, and CC, respectively, P < 0.001). All three groups commonly believed that secondary ischemic injury is an important problem following TBI (74, 66, and 63%, P = 0.32), but fewer NS believed that transfusions have important immunodulatory effects (25, 91, and 83%, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Neurosurgeons prefer more liberal transfusion of TBI patients than TS and CC, suggesting that actual practice may depend largely on which specialist is primarily managing care. The observed clinical equipoise would justify a randomized trial of liberal versus restrictive transfusion strategies in patients with TBI.

Early supplemental parenteral nutrition is associated with increased infectious complications in critically ill trauma patients.

BACKGROUND: Parenteral nutrition (PN) is often used in severely injured patients when caloric goals are not achieved enterally. The purpose of this study is to determine whether early administration of parenteral nutrition is associated with an increased risk for infection after severe injury. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study of severely injured blunt trauma patients enrolled from eight trauma centers participating in the "Inflammation and the Host Response to Injury" (Glue Grant) study. We compared patients receiving PN within 7 days after injury with a control group that did not receive early PN. We then focused on patients who tolerated at least some enteral nutrition (EN) during the first week and evaluated the potential influence of supplemental PN on outcomes in this "enteral tolerant" subgroup. Primary outcomes included occurrence of a nosocomial infection after the first postinjury week. Secondary outcomes included type of infection and hospital mortality. RESULTS: Of 567 patients enrolled, 95 (17%) received early PN. Early PN use was associated with a greater risk of nosocomial infection (relative risk [RR] = 2.1; 95% CI, 1.6 to 2.6; p < 0.001). In the enteral-tolerant subgroup (n = 249), early PN was also associated with an increase in nosocomial infections (RR = 1.6; 95% CI, 1.2 to 2.1; p = 0.005) in part because of an increased risk of bloodstream infection (RR = 2.8; 95% CI, 1.5 to 5.3; p = 0.002). Mortality tended to be higher in patients receiving additional EN and PN versus EN alone (RR = 2.3; 95% CI, 1.0 to 5.2; p = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: In critically ill trauma patients who are able to tolerate at least some EN, early PN administration can contribute to increased infectious morbidity and worse clinical outcomes.