Protection enhancement strategies of potential outbreaks during Hajj.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assist governments and organizers of mass gathering events in reviewing existing preventive measures for disease outbreaks to inform the adoption of enhanced strategies for risk reduction and impacts on public health. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, quantitative, descriptive study. SETTING: This study was conducted in a mass gathering of Hajj, an annual religious event in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of 70 personnel working in government ministries of Saudi Arabia (Ministry of Health, Ministry of Hajj, and Ministry of Interior) and the Saudi Red Crescent Authority involved in health management in Hajj, including policy formulation and implementation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Perception and knowledge of health risks and outbreaks associated with Hajj. RESULTS: The majority of the respondents (60 percent) expressed concern about the potential for infection transmission during Hajj. The respondents also reported having or knowing a colleague, a friend, or a family member with a history of infection during or after Hajj. However, the respondents' knowledge of the possible modes of infection of various diseases was limited. CONCLUSIONS: Hajj is associated with various risks of outbreaks, and thus, better protection-enhancing measures are required. Training personnel involved in health management, including planners, coordinators, and healthcare providers, can help reduce the risks and prevent potential outbreaks.

Use of alternate healthcare facilities as alternate transport destinations during a mass-casualty incident.

The purpose of this discussion is to review the use of destinations other than the hospital emergency department, to transport patients injured as a result of a mass-casualty incident (MCI). A MCI has the ability to overwhelm traditional hospital resources normally thought of as appropriate destinations for the transport of injured patients. As a result, those with less severe injuries often are required to wait before they can receive definitive treatment. This waiting period, either at the scene of the incident or in the emergency department, can increase morbidity and drain resources that can be better directed toward the transport and care of those more severely injured. Potential alternate transport destinations include physician office buildings, ambulatory care centers, ambulatory surgery centers, and urgent care centers. By allowing for transport to alternate locations, these less severely injured patients can be removed rapidly from the scene, treated, and potentially released. This effort can decrease the strain on traditional resources within the system, better allowing these resources to treat more seriously injured patients.

Family medicine capability in medical disaster response.

Every disaster often holds a potential for significant impacts on human health and life. Every new threat presents new challenges to health risk management. However, family medicine faces an uncertainty on the specific roles it can assume to support urgent efforts at disaster surge response. Its preparedness level remains unknown. This research project, designed to explore issues of family medicine competency in this changed disaster response environment, conducted a disaster preparedness and response workshop among 28 family medicine physicians, testing their learning rate using a pre-test-post-test data collection method. Pre-test results (38.11 percent, x = 10.67) indicate that family medicine practitioners as a group were not ready by competency to respond to a disaster event and may instead increase the life risks of disaster victims. Post-test results (x = 21.67, 77.39 percent) showed an average doubling of their learning levels, indicating the workshop effectiveness in improving their disaster preparedness and response competency.

Principles of disaster planning for the pediatric population.

Unique physiological, developmental, and psychological attributes of children make them one of the more vulnerable populations during mass-casualty incidents. Because of their distinctive vulnerabilities, it is crucial that pediatric needs are incorporated into every stage of disaster planning. Individuals, families, and communities can help mitigate the effects of disasters on pediatric populations through ongoing awareness and preventive practices. Mitigation efforts also can be achieved through education and training of the healthcare workforce. Preparedness activities include gaining Emergency Medical Services for Children Pediatric Facility Recognition, conducting pediatric disaster drills, improving pediatric surge capacity, and ensuring that the needs of children are incorporated into all levels of disaster plans. Pediatric response can be improved in a number of ways, including: (1) enhanced pediatric disaster expertise; (2) altered decontamination protocols that reflect pediatric needs; and (3) minimized parent-child separation. Recovery efforts at the pediatric level include promoting specific mental health therapies for children and incorporating children into disaster relief and recovery efforts. Improving pediatric emergency care needs should be at the forefront of every disaster planner's agenda.

A Survey of Disaster Medical Education in Osteopathic Medical School Curricula.

Parrillo SJ , Christensen D , Teitelbaum HS , Glassman ES . A survey of disaster medical education in osteopathic medical school curricula. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31(6):581-582.

Management of ionizing radiation injuries and illnesses, part 4: acute radiation syndrome.

To provide proper medical care for patients after a radiation incident, it is necessary to make the correct diagnosis in a timely manner and to ascertain the relative magnitude of the incident. The present article addresses the clinical diagnosis and management of high-dose radiation injuries and illnesses in the first 24 to 72 hours after a radiologic or nuclear incident. To evaluate the magnitude of a high-dose incident, it is important for the health physicist, physician, and radiobiologist to work together and to assess many variables, including medical history and physical examination results; the timing of prodromal signs and symptoms (eg, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, transient incapacitation, hypotension, and other signs and symptoms suggestive of high-level exposure); and the incident history, including system geometry, source-patient distance, and the suspected radiation dose distribution.

Management of ionizing radiation injuries and illnesses, part 5: local radiation injury.

This final article in the series on the medical management of ionizing radiation injuries and illnesses focuses on the effects of acute ionizing radiation exposure to one of the largest organ systems of the body-the skin. These injuries may extend beyond the skin into deeper tissues and cause local radiation injury. There are numerous causes of these injuries, ranging from industrial incidents to medical procedures. In the present article, the authors characterize the clinical course, pathophysiologic process, sources of injury, diagnosis, and management of local radiation injury and describe a clinical scenario. This information is important for primary care physicians, to whom patients are likely to initially present with such injuries.

Public health aspects of nuclear and radiological incidents.

Radiological and nuclear incidents are low probability but very high risk events. Measures can be, and have been, implemented to limit or prevent the impact on the public. Preparedness, however, remains the key to minimizing morbidity and mortality. Incidents may be related to hospital-based mis-administration of radiation in interventional radiology or nuclear medicine, industrial or nuclear power plant accidents. Safety and security measures are in place to prevent or mitigate such events. Despite efforts to prevent them, terrorist-perpetrated incidents with, for example, a radiological dispersal device (RDD) are also possible. Due to a misunderstanding of, or lack of, formal education regarding things in this realm, there can be considerable anxiety, even fear, about radiation-related incidents. Multiple studies evaluating healthcare provider willingness to report to work rank radiation as the hazard that will keep the largest number of workers at home. Even incidents that do not constitute a disaster can spiral out of control quite rapidly, placing considerable demands on community resources. Our communities will face these threats in the future and it is the responsibility of physicians and allied healthcare personnel to be trained and ready to care for those affected. The scope of resources needed to prepare for and respond to such incidents is indeed vast. It encompasses the coordinated effort of first responders and physicians, the preparedness of national agencies involved in responding to such events, and individual community cooperation and solidarity. This article reviews the approach to the short- and long-term effects of a radiological or nuclear incident on an affected population, with a specific focus on the medical and public health issues. It also summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of our current ability to respond effectively and makes recommendations to improve these capabilities.

Impact of dual-polarization radar technology and Twitter on the Hattiesburg, Mississippi tornado.

OBJECTIVE: Dual-Polarization Radar and Twitter were analyzed to determine the impact on injuries sustained by the Hattiesburg EF-4 tornado. METHOD: Tracking data provided from the Dual-Pol radar systems in National Weather Service Jackson were reviewed. Twitter data from four local Twitter handles were obtained. The change in tweets and followers for the day of the storm were compared to historical averages. A Student t-test was utilized in determining statistical significance (p<0.05). Medical records from two local emergency departments were reviewed for patients treated up to 24 hours after the tornado. An Injury Severity Score (ISS) was calculated for trauma records related to the tornado. RESULTS: Radar detection of the tornado gave approximately 30 minutes of advanced warning time. Statistical significance in follower growth was seen in all four Twitter handles. Out of 50 patients, the average ISS was 3.9 with a range of 1 to 29. There were zero fatalities. CONCLUSIONS: An ISS average of 3.9 was significantly less than two previous tornadoes of similar strength that occurred prior to increased usage of Dual-pol radar and Twitter as a means for communicating severe weather information. Early detection from Dual-pol radar improved warning time. Tweets informed citizens to seek appropriate shelter. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2013;7:585-592).

Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis.

Since their first descriptions in 1922 and 1948, respectively, Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) have become recognized as manifestations--with different severity--of the same disease process along a spectrum of illness. Even today, decades after their description, there is still disagreement about when a particular bullous disease evolves from erythema multiforme to SJS/TEN. There is no disagreement, however, about the potentially life-threatening nature of the disease. Many cases are misdiagnosed, especially in their early stages. In this paper we address our current understanding of this disease spectrum and discuss both accepted and more controversial modes of therapy.

Incidence of occult upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients presenting to the ED with hematochezia.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine the incidence of nasogastric (NG) aspiration revealing a clinically unsuspected upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with hematochezia. A secondary aim was to identify factors associated with an upper GI source. METHODS: Data were prospectively collected from patients 18 years or older with either bright red blood per rectum or maroon stools. Patients were excluded if their history revealed hematemesis or their examination revealed melena, bleeding from an external hemorrhoid, or anal fissure. An NG tube was placed, and initial and postlavage aspirates were inspected and tested with Gastrocult (Beckman Coulter, Inc, Palo Alto, CA) for the presence of blood. Additional data included demographics, history, vital signs, and laboratory results. RESULTS: Of 114 patients, 11 (9.6%; 95% confidence interval, 4.9%-16.6%) had a positive NG aspirate. There were no statistically significant differences in age, sex, or race between the 2 groups. Factors associated with a positive aspirate were history of upper GI bleeding (P = .04), heart rate (P = .055), and hemoglobin (P = .03). CONCLUSION: Patients presenting to the ED with hematochezia require NG tube placement and aspiration to exclude an upper GI source of bleeding. History of an upper GI bleeding and anemia were associated with a positive NG aspirate.