BET 1: cervical spine immobilisation in the management of drowning victims.

A short cut review was carried out to establish whether patients presenting to the emergency department after a near drowning should have cervical spine immobilisation. A search of the literature found only three studies directly relevant to the question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these papers are tabulated. The clinical bottom line is that cervical spine injuries are rare in drowning and near drowning unless there is a history of diving or a fall or signs of trauma. Cervical spine immobilisation should be reserved for cases where there is a reasonable suspicion of a spinal injury.

BET 2: CT head in investigation of near drowning.

A short cut review was carried out to establish whether patients presenting to the emergency department after a near drowning should have a CT head scan as part of their initial assessment. A search of the literature found only three studies directly relevant to the question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these papers are tabulated. The clinical bottom line is that anyone with GCS≤4 should have a CT head as an abnormal scan at this stage heralds a very poor prognosis.

Simulation of Urgent Airway Management in a Postthyroidectomy Hematoma.

Introduction: An expanding neck hematoma following thyroidectomy is a rare complication requiring urgent airway management and potential bedside evacuation before definitive surgical intervention. Due to its rare occurrence and life-threatening consequences, appropriate crisis resource management and a systematic approach are critical for patient safety. Methods: In this simulation scenario using a high-fidelity mannequin, a 68-year-old male presented with an expanding cervical hematoma 2 hours after a total thyroidectomy. The target audience was junior residents (PGY 1, PGY 2) in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. Residents were given a case stem to encourage active information gathering through history and physical examination. Setup and flow of the scenario were designed for residents to prioritize establishing an airway through bedside decompression of the hematoma prior to making operating room arrangements for definitive management. Standardized patients playing a ward nurse and patient family member added complexity to the case. Results: Since 2012, the simulation has been used with a total of 96 residents as part of an annual boot camp. Surveys conducted after the boot camp verified the effectiveness of simulations in learning and, specifically, the usefulness of this scenario. Discussion: Simulation-based training is an effective learning modality for critical cases in health care disciplines involving emergency airway management. A well-developed simulation that closely resembles a real-life scenario is essential in creating a rich learning environment for trainees. Our scenario can be a valuable resource for other institutions implementing simulation-based training as part of their medical education.

Evidence-based management of patients with Colles' fractures in emergency departments: a case-based critical reflection.

Distal forearm fractures are a common presentation in UK emergency departments (EDs). However, despite the frequency of this presentation there is considerable variation in management, which may reflect the lack of definitive evidence to support one method. This article provides a narrative review of the literature on these injuries and provides an evidence-based approach to how they can be managed by ED clinicians. The review was prompted by a case-based critical reflection and Driscoll's ( 2007 ) model what, so what, now what, is used to structure the article and learning.

Lisfranc injury: assessment and management in emergency departments.

Injuries to the tarsometatarsal joint complex, also referred to as a Lisfranc injury, are relatively uncommon presentations to emergency departments (EDs), however accurate diagnosis is vital to prevent the risk of long-term disability. Advanced nurse practitioners (ANPs) must use a broad range of clinical skills to manage patients' injuries effectively. A high level of suspicion, recognition of the clinical manifestations of Lisfranc injury and appropriate radiographic images are required to formulate a correct diagnosis. This article describes Lisfranc injuries, revises the anatomy of the midfoot, and discusses diagnosis and management. It includes a case study to illustrate assessment and management of a patient who presented to an ED with a Lisfranc injury following a fall from a height and considers the diagnostic decisions and management options available to ANPs.

2017 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science With Treatment Recommendations Summary.

The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation has initiated a near-continuous review of cardiopulmonary resuscitation science that replaces the previous 5-year cyclic batch-and-queue approach process. This is the first of an annual series of International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science With Treatment Recommendations summary articles that will include the cardiopulmonary resuscitation science reviewed by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation in the previous year. The review this year includes 5 basic life support and 1 paediatric Consensuses on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science With Treatment Recommendations. Each of these includes a summary of the science and its quality based on Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation criteria and treatment recommendations. Insights into the deliberations of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation task force members are provided in Values and Preferences sections. Finally, the task force members have prioritised and listed the top 3 knowledge gaps for each population, intervention, comparator, and outcome question.

The History of the Salt Wars.

The "Salt-Blood Pressure Hypothesis" states that an increase in the intake of salt leads to an increased in blood pressure and subsequently increases the risk for cardiovascular events, which has been a point of contention for decades. This article covers the history and some of the key players pertaining to "The Salt Wars" during the first half of the 1900s, both in Europe and in the United States. Early studies finding benefits with salt restriction in those with hypertension were based on uncontrolled case reports. The overall evidence in the first half of the 1900s suggests that a low-salt diet was not a reasonable strategy for treating hypertension.

National Prehospital Evidence-Based Guidelines Strategy: A Summary for EMS Stakeholders.

Multiple national organizations have recommended and supported a national investment to increase the scientific evidence available to guide patient care delivered by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and incorporate that evidence directly into EMS systems. Ongoing efforts seek to develop, implement, and evaluate prehospital evidence-based guidelines (EBGs) using the National Model Process created by a multidisciplinary panel of experts convened by the Federal Interagency Committee on EMS (FICEMS) and the National EMS Advisory Council (NEMSAC). Yet, these and other EBG efforts have occurred in relative isolation, with limited direct collaboration between national projects, and have experienced challenges in implementation of individual guidelines. There is a need to develop sustainable relationships among stakeholders that facilitate a common vision that facilitates EBG efforts. Herein, we summarize a National Strategy on EBGs developed by the National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP) with involvement of 57 stakeholder organizations, and with the financial support of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the EMS for Children program. The Strategy proposes seven action items that support collaborative efforts in advancing prehospital EBGs. The first proposed action is creation of a Prehospital Guidelines Consortium (PGC) representing national medical and EMS organizations that have an interest in prehospital EBGs and their benefits to patient outcomes. Other action items include promoting research that supports creation and evaluates the impact of EBGs, promoting the development of new EBGs through improved stakeholder collaboration, and improving education on evidence-based medicine for all prehospital providers. The Strategy intends to facilitate implementation of EBGs by improving guideline dissemination and incorporation into protocols, and seeks to establish standardized evaluation methods for prehospital EBGs. Finally, the Strategy proposes that key stakeholder organizations financially support the Prehospital Guidelines Consortium as a means of implementing the Strategy, while together promoting additional funding for continued EBG efforts.

Evidence Aid approach to gap analysis and priority setting of questions for systematic reviews in disasters.

This article is based on a presentation at the Evidence Aid Symposium, on 20 September 2014, at Hyderabad, India. Ten years after the Indian Ocean Tsunami, Evidence Aid and it parters and other humanitarian stakeholders met to update about Evidence Aid work and discussed it future. The Evidence Aid approach to fill in the gap on the production and use of evidence in disater sector and other humanitarian health emergencies was widely discussed. Iterative approach to prioritise evidence reinforced Evidence Aid principle of independacy and a coordinated international orgasisation. The generation of 30 research questions during the prioritisation process contitute the first big step for Evidence Aid to become a one stop shop for the seach evidence on the effectiveness of interventions in disasters.

The development of evidence-based prehospital guidelines using a GRADE-based methodology.

BACKGROUND: The burgeoning literature in prehospital care creates an opportunity to improve care through evidence-based guidelines (EBGs). Previously, an established process for the creation of such guidelines and adoption and implementation at the local level was lacking. This has led to great variability in the content of prehospital protocols in different jurisdictions across the globe. Recently the Federal Interagency Committee on Emergency Medical Services (FICEMS) and the National EMS Advisory Council (NEMSAC) approved a National Prehospital Evidence-based Guideline Model Process for the development, implementation, and evaluation of EBGs. The Model Process recommends the use of established guideline development tools such as Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE). Objective. To describe the process of development of three prehospital EBGs using the National Prehospital EBG Model Process (EBG Model Process) and the GRADE EBG development tool. METHODS: We conducted three unique iterations of the EBG Model Process utilizing the GRADE EBG development tool. The process involved 6 distinct and essential steps, including 1) assembling the expert panel and providing GRADE training; 2) defining the evidence-based guideline (EBG) content area and establishing the specific clinical questions to address in patient, intervention, comparison, and outcome (PICO) format; 3) prioritizing outcomes to facilitate systematic literature searches; 4) creating GRADE tables, or evidence profiles, for each PICO question; 5) vetting and endorsing GRADE evidence tables and drafting recommendations; and 6) synthesizing recommendations into an EMS protocol and visual algorithm. Feedback and suggestions for improvement were solicited from participants and relevant stakeholders in the process. RESULTS: We successfully used the process to create three separate prehospital evidence-based guidelines, formatted into decision tree algorithms with levels of evidence and graded recommendations assigned to each decision point. However, the process revealed itself to be resource intensive, and most of the suggestions for improvement would require even more resource utilization. CONCLUSIONS: The National Prehospital EBG Model Process can be used to create credible, transparent, and usable prehospital evidence-based guidelines. We suggest that a centralized or regionalized approach be used to create and maintain a full set of prehospital EBGs as a means of optimizing resource use.

An Evidence-based Guideline for the air medical transportation of prehospital trauma patients.

BACKGROUND: Decisions about the transportation of trauma patients by helicopter are often not well informed by research assessing the risks, benefits, and costs of such transport. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this evidence-based guideline (EBG) is to recommend a strategy for the selection of prehospital trauma patients who would benefit most from aeromedical transportation. METHODS: A multidisciplinary panel was recruited consisting of experts in trauma, EBG development, and emergency medical services (EMS) outcomes research. Representatives of the Federal Interagency Committee on Emergency Medical Services (FICEMS), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) (funding agency), and the Children's National Medical Center (investigative team) also contributed to the process. The panel used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology to guide question formulation, evidence retrieval, appraisal/synthesis, and formulate recommendations. The process followed the National Evidence-Based Guideline Model Process, which has been approved by the Federal Interagency Committee on EMS and the National EMS Advisory Council. RESULTS: Two strong and three weak recommendations emerged from the process, all supported only by low or very low quality evidence. The panel strongly recommended that the 2011 CDC Guideline for the Field Triage of Injured Patients be used as the initial step in the triage process, and that ground emergency medical services (GEMS) be used for patients not meeting CDC anatomic, physiologic, and situational high-acuity criteria. The panel issued a weak recommendation to use helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) for higher-acuity patients if there is a time-savings versus GEMS, or if an appropriate hospital is not accessible by GEMS due to systemic/logistical factors. The panel strongly recommended that online medical direction should not be required for activating HEMS. Special consideration was given to the potential need for local adaptation. CONCLUSIONS: Systematic and transparent methodology was used to develop an evidence-based guideline for the transportation of prehospital trauma patients. The recommendations provide specific guidance regarding the activation of GEMS and HEMS for patients of varying acuity. Future research is required to strengthen the data and recommendations, define optimal approaches for guideline implementation, and determine the impact of implementation on safety and outcomes including cost.

An Evidence-based Guideline for prehospital analgesia in trauma.

BACKGROUND: The management of acute traumatic pain is a crucial component of prehospital care and yet the assessment and administration of analgesia is highly variable, frequently suboptimal, and often determined by consensus-based regional protocols. OBJECTIVE: To develop an evidence-based guideline (EBG) for the clinical management of acute traumatic pain in adults and children by advanced life support (ALS) providers in the prehospital setting. Methods. We recruited a multi-stakeholder panel with expertise in acute pain management, guideline development, health informatics, and emergency medical services (EMS) outcomes research. Representatives of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (sponsoring agency) and a major children's research center (investigative team) also contributed to the process. The panel used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology to guide the process of question formulation, evidence retrieval, appraisal/synthesis, and formulation of recommendations. The process also adhered to the National Prehospital Evidence-Based Guideline (EBG) model process approved by the Federal Interagency Council for EMS and the National EMS Advisory Council. RESULTS: Four strong and three weak recommendations emerged from the process; two of the strong recommendations were linked to high- and moderate-quality evidence, respectively. The panel recommended that all patients be considered candidates for analgesia, regardless of transport interval, and that opioid medications should be considered for patients in moderate to severe pain. The panel also recommended that all patients should be reassessed at frequent intervals using a standardized pain scale and that patients should be re-dosed if pain persists. The panel suggested the use of specific age-appropriate pain scales. CONCLUSION: GRADE methodology was used to develop an evidence-based guideline for prehospital analgesia in trauma. The panel issued four strong recommendations regarding patient assessment and narcotic medication dosing. Future research should define optimal approaches for implementation of the guideline as well as the impact of the protocol on safety and effectiveness metrics.

The implementation and evaluation of an evidence-based statewide prehospital pain management protocol developed using the national prehospital evidence-based guideline model process for emergency medical services.

BACKGROUND: In 2008, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration funded the development of a model process for the development and implementation of evidence-based guidelines (EBGs) for emergency medical services (EMS). We report on the implementation and evaluation of an evidence-based prehospital pain management protocol developed using this model process. METHODS: An evidence-based protocol for prehospital management of pain resulting from injuries and burns was reviewed by the Protocol Review Committee (PRC) of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS). The PRC recommended revisions to the Maryland protocol that reflected recommendations in the EBG: weight-based dosing and repeat dosing of morphine. A training curriculum was developed and implemented using Maryland's online Learning Management System and successfully accessed by 3,941 paramedics and 15,969 BLS providers. Field providers submitted electronic patient care reports to the MIEMSS statewide prehospital database. Inclusion criteria were injured or burned patients transported by Maryland ambulances to Maryland hospitals whose electronic patient care records included data for level of EMS provider training during a 12-month preimplementation period and a 12-month postimplementation period from September 2010 through March 2012. We compared the percentage of patients receiving pain scale assessments and morphine, as well as the dose of morphine administered and the use of naloxone as a rescue medication for opiate use, before and after the protocol change. RESULTS: No differences were seen in the percentage of patients who had a pain score documented or the percent of patients receiving morphine before and after the protocol change, but there was a significant increase in the total dose and dose in mg/kg administered per patient. During the postintervention phase, patients received an 18% higher total morphine dose and a 14.9% greater mg/kg dose. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that the implementation of a revised statewide prehospital pain management protocol based on an EBG developed using the National Prehospital Evidence-based Guideline Model Process was associated with an increase in dosing of narcotic pain medication consistent with that recommended by the EBG. No differences were seen in the percentage of patients receiving opiate analgesia or in the documentation of pain scores.

An Evidence-based Guideline for Pediatric Prehospital Seizure Management Using GRADE Methodology.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this guideline is to recommend evidence-based practices for timely prehospital pediatric seizure cessation while avoiding respiratory depression and seizure recurrence. METHODS: A multidisciplinary panel was chosen based on expertise in pediatric emergency medicine, prehospital medicine, and/or evidence-based guideline development. The panel followed the National Prehospital EBG Model using the GRADE methodology to formulate questions, retrieve evidence, appraise the evidence, and formulate recommendations. The panel members initially searched the literature in 2009 and updated their searches in 2012. The panel finalized a draft of a patient care algorithm in 2012 that was presented to stakeholder organizations to gather feedback for necessary revisions. RESULTS: Five strong and ten weak recommendations emerged from the process; all but one was supported by low or very low quality evidence. The panel sought to ensure that the recommendations promoted timely seizure cessation while avoiding respiratory depression and seizure recurrence. The panel recommended that all patients in an active seizure have capillary blood glucose checked and be treated with intravenous (IV) dextrose or intramuscular (IM) glucagon if <60 mg/dL (3 mmol/L). The panel also recommended that non-IV routes (buccal, IM, or intranasal) of benzodiazepines (0.2 mg/kg) be used as first-line therapy for status epilepticus, rather than the rectal route. CONCLUSIONS: Using GRADE methodology, we have developed a pediatric seizure guideline that emphasizes the role of capillary blood glucometry and the use of buccal, IM, or intranasal benzodiazepines over IV or rectal routes. Future research is needed to compare the effectiveness and safety of these medication routes.