Feasibility of quality indicators on prehospital advanced airway management in a physician-staffed emergency medical service: survey-based assessment of the provider point of view.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the feasibility of quality indicators (QIs) for prehospital advanced airway management (PAAM) from a provider point of view. DESIGN: The study is a survey based feasibility assessment following field testing of QIs for PAAM. SETTING: The study was performed in two physician staffed emergency medical services in Switzerland. PARTICIPANTS: 42 of the 44 emergency physicians who completed at least one case report form (CRF) dedicated to the collection of the QIs on PAAM between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2021 participated in the study. INTERVENTION: The data required to calculate the 17 QIs was systematically collected through a dedicated electronic CRF. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcomes were provider-related feasibility criteria: relevance and acceptance of the QIs, as well as reliability of the data collection. Secondary outcomes were effort to collect specific data and to complete the CRF. RESULTS: Over the study period, 470 CRFs were completed, with a median of 11 per physician (IQR 4-17; range 1-48). The median time to complete the CRF was 7 min (IQR 3-16) and was considered reasonable by 95% of the physicians. Overall, 75% of the physicians assessed the set of QIs to be relevant, and 74% accepted that the set of QIs assessed the quality of PAAM. The reliability of data collection was rated as good or excellent for each of the 17 QIs, with the lowest rated for the following 3 QIs: duration of preoxygenation, duration of laryngoscopy and occurrence of desaturation during laryngoscopy. CONCLUSIONS: Collection of QIs on PAAM appears feasible. Electronic medical records and technological solutions facilitating automatic collection of vital parameters and timing during the procedure could improve the reliability of data collection for some QIs. Studies in other services are needed to determine the external validity of our results.

HOPE survival probability cutoff for ECLS rewarming in hypothermic cardiac arrest.

The HOPE score (https://www.hypothermiascore.org) is a validated instrument for estimating the survival probability of patients in hypothermic cardiac arrest with ECLS rewarming. It is based on six patient characteristics: sex, age, mechanism of hypothermia, duration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, serum potassium and temperature. The HOPE score provides a reliable estimate of survival probability that can be used to decide whether to rewarm a patient. In the initial publication of the HOPE score, a cutoff of 10% was proposed, below which a patient would not be rewarmed. This choice was tentative and subject to debate. In this paper, we examine the implications of this choice on the proportions of false positives (i.e., rewarmed patient who ends up dying) and false negatives (i.e., non-rewarmed patients who would have survived if rewarmed), and we provide approximate formulas to obtain upper bounds for these proportions as a function of the cutoff chosen. In particular, the choice of a 10% cutoff will result in a proportion of FP of less than 40% and a proportion of FN of less than 0.5% in many practical situations.

Suspension syndrome: a scoping review and recommendations from the International Commission for Mountain Emergency Medicine (ICAR MEDCOM).

BACKGROUND: Suspension syndrome describes a multifactorial cardio-circulatory collapse during passive hanging on a rope or in a harness system in a vertical or near-vertical position. The pathophysiology is still debated controversially. AIMS: The International Commission for Mountain Emergency Medicine (ICAR MedCom) performed a scoping review to identify all articles with original epidemiological and medical data to understand the pathophysiology of suspension syndrome and develop updated recommendations for the definition, prevention, and management of suspension syndrome. METHODS: A literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane library. The bibliographies of the eligible articles for this review were additionally screened. RESULTS: The online literature search yielded 210 articles, scanning of the references yielded another 30 articles. Finally, 23 articles were included into this work. CONCLUSIONS: Suspension Syndrome is a rare entity. A neurocardiogenic reflex may lead to bradycardia, arterial hypotension, loss of consciousness and cardiac arrest. Concomitant causes, such as pain from being suspended, traumatic injuries and accidental hypothermia may contribute to the development of the Suspension Syndrome. Preventive factors include using a well-fitting sit harness, which does not cause discomfort while being suspended, and activating the muscle pump of the legs. Expediting help to extricate the suspended person is key. In a peri-arrest situation, the person should be positioned supine and standard advanced life support should be initiated immediately. Reversible causes of cardiac arrest caused or aggravated by suspension syndrome, e.g., hyperkalaemia, pulmonary embolism, hypoxia, and hypothermia, should be considered. In the hospital, blood and further exams should assess organ injuries caused by suspension syndrome.

Performance Assessment of Out-of-Hospital Use of Pelvic Circumferential Compression Devices for Severely Injured Patients in Switzerland: A Nationwide Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Patients with severe pelvic fractures carry a greater risk of severe bleeding, and pelvic compression devices (PCCD) are used to stabilize the pelvis on the pre-hospital scene. The aim of this study was to describe the use of PCCD in the pre-hospital setting on a nationwide scale (Switzerland) and determine the sensitivity, specificity and rates of over- and under-triage of the current application practices. The secondary objective was to identify pre-hospital factors associated with unstable pelvic fractures. METHODS: Retrospective cross-sectional study using anonymized patient data (1 January 2015-31 December 2020) from the Swiss Trauma Registry (STR). Based on AIS scores, patients were assigned a unique principal diagnosis among three categories (unstable pelvic fracture-stable pelvic fracture-other) and assessed for use or not of PCCD. Secondarily, patient characteristics, initial pre-hospital vital signs, means of pre-hospital transport and trauma mechanism were also extracted from the database. RESULTS: 2790 patients were included for analysis. A PCCD was used in 387 (13.9%) patients. In the PCCD group, 176 (45.5%) had an unstable pelvic fracture, 52 (13.4%) a stable pelvic fracture and 159 (41.1%) an injury unrelated to the pelvic region. In the group who did not receive a PCCD, 214 (8.9%) had an unstable pelvic fracture, 182 (7.6%) a stable pelvic fracture and 2007 (83.5%) an injury unrelated to the pelvic region. The nationwide sensitivity of PCCD application was 45.1% (95% CI 40.1-50.2), the specificity 91.2% (95% CI 90-92.3), with both over- and under-triage rates of 55%. The prevalence of unstable fractures in our population was 14% (390/2790). We identified female sex, younger age, lower systolic blood pressure, higher shock index, pedestrian hit and fall ≥3 m as possible risk factors for an unstable pelvic fracture. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate a nationwide both over- and under-triage rate of 55% for out-of-hospital PCCD application. Female gender, younger age, lower blood pressure, higher shock index, pedestrian hit and fall >3 m are possible risk factors for unstable pelvic fracture, but it remains unclear if those parameters are relevant clinically to perform pre-hospital triage.

Hypothermic cardiac arrest patients admitted to hospital who were not rewarmed with extracorporeal life support: A retrospective study.

Aims: Our goal was to study hypothermic cardiac arrest (CA) patients who were not rewarmed by Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS) but were admitted to a hospital equipped for it. The focus was on whether the decisions of non-rewarming, meaning termination of resuscitation, were compliant with international guidelines based on serum potassium at hospital admission. Methods: We retrospectively included all hypothermic CA who were not rewarmed, from three Swiss centers between 1st January 2000 and 2nd May 2021. Data were extracted from medical charts and assembled into two groups for analysis according to serum potassium. We identified the criteria used to terminate resuscitation. We also retrospectively calculated the HOPE score, a multivariable tool predicting the survival probability in hypothermic CA undergoing ECLS rewarming. Results: Thirty-eight victims were included in the study. The decision of non-rewarming was compliant with international guidelines for 12 (33%) patients. Among the 36 patients for whom the serum potassium was measured at hospital admission, 24 (67%) had a value that - alone - would have indicated ECLS. For 13 of these 24 (54%) patients, the HOPE score was <10%, meaning that ECLS was not indicated. The HOPE estimation of the survival probabilities, when used with a 10% threshold, supported 23 (68%) of the non-rewarming decisions made by the clinicians. Conclusions: This study showed a low adherence to international guidelines for hypothermic CA patients. In contrast, most of these non-rewarming decisions made by clinicians would have been compliant with current guidelines based on the HOPE score.

Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy Following Complete Avalanche Burial: A Case Report.

Libersa, Marie, Louis Marxer, Ken Zafren, Stephane Oggier, Lorenzo Pucci, and Mathieu Pasquier. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy following complete avalanche burial: a case report. High Alt Med Biol. 24:149-151, 2023.-Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a transient left ventricular dyskinesia triggered by a stressful physical or emotional event. We report a case of mid-ventricular Takotsubo stress cardiomyopathy in an avalanche victim. The patient was a 41-year-old woman who was completely buried under 1.2 m of snow for 30 minutes. On arrival at the hospital, she was conscious and hypothermic (core temperature 33.7°C). Her ECG showed rapid atrial fibrillation (142 beats/min) that converted to sinus rhythm after rewarming and administration of crystalloids. Echocardiography showed akinesia of the left mid-ventricle with a left ventricular ejection fraction of 41%. At 48-hour follow-up, echocardiography showed an almost complete recovery. During her hospital stay the patient was diagnosed with an acute stress disorder with symptoms of dissociation. She was discharged home after 5 days. At 2-week follow-up echocardiography was normal. Psychological follow-up was normal at 7 months. The physical and psychological stress of the avalanche, as well as hypothermia, were all possible triggers of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

Outcome prediction for hypothermic patients in cardiac arrest.

The 5A score predicts in-hospital mortality of patients suffering from accidental hypothermia, including those not in cardiac arrest. The HOPE score was specifically developed to predict survival for the subgroup of hypothermic patients in cardiac considered for extracorporeal life support rewarming. The C-statistic in the external validation study of the HOPE score was 0.825 (95% CI: 0.753-0.897), confirming its excellent discrimination. In addition, its good calibration allows for a reliable interpretation of the corresponding survival probability after rewarming. The HOPE score should be used for predicting outcome and selecting hypothermic patients in cardiac arrest for rewarming.

Prevalence and clinical significance of point of care elevated lactate at emergency admission in older patients: a prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: Patients who are over 65 years old represent up to 24% of emergency department (ED) admissions. They are at increased risk of under-triage due to impaired physiological responses. The primary objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of elevated lactate by point of care testing (POCT) in this population. The secondary objective was to assess the additional value of lactate level in predicting an early poor outcome, as compared to and combined with common clinical scores and triage scales. METHODS: This monocentric prospective study recruited ED patients who were over 65 years old between July 19th 2019 and June 17th 2020. Patients consulting for seizures or needing immediate assessment were excluded. POCT lactates were considered elevated if ≥ 2.5 mmol/L. A poor outcome was defined based on certain complications or therapeutic decisions. RESULTS: In total, 602 patients were included; 163 (27.1%) had elevated lactate and 44 (7.3%) had a poor outcome. There was no association between poor outcome and lactate level. Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) was significantly associated with poor outcome, alongside National Early Warning Score (NEWS). Logistic regression also associated lactate level combined with MEWS and poor outcome. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of elevated lactate was 27.1%. Lactate level alone or combined with different triage scales or clinical scores such as MEWS, NEWS and qSOFA was not associated with prediction of a poor outcome. MEWS alone performed best in predicting poor outcome. The usefulness of POCT lactate measurement at triage is questionable in the population of 65 and above.

Underuse of Epinephrine for the Treatment of Anaphylaxis in the Prehospital Setting.

Background: Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening reaction. Its key management is rapid diagnosis and prompt administration of intramuscular epinephrine. There are many barriers to epinephrine use. Objective: To assess the performance of dispatchers at suspecting anaphylaxis, proposing epinephrine treatment, helping find an epinephrine autoinjector (EAI) and using it. Methods: This is a retrospective study. Calls classified as "anaphylaxis" or "allergy" were included, and voice recordings were reviewed. Clinical, environmental, and operational variables were collected. Anaphylaxis was suspected if sudden dyspnoea, abdominal symptoms (vomiting, abdominal pain, or diarrhoea), dizziness, or loss of consciousness were present. Results: The dispatch handled 120,618 dispatch calls. Dispatchers suspected 611 (0.5%) cases of allergy. Among those, 437 (72%) were deemed consistent with anaphylaxis: 65 patients received epinephrine prior to the dispatcher's advice, and dispatchers proposed the use of an EAI to 141 patients (38%). An EAI was available in 45 situations. The proposition was accepted on 18 cases and performed in 16 cases. The median time from the EAI being in hand and the injection was 50 seconds. Conclusions: Trained dispatchers are able to suspect anaphylaxis, decide when to treat and provide guidance on using an EAI, although their performance can be improved. There is a need for easier access to EAIs in public places.

Avalanche survival depends on the time of day of the accident: A retrospective observational study.

INTRODUCTION: We aimed to investigate the relationship between the time of the day and the probability of survival of completely buried avalanche victims. We explored the frequency of avalanche burials occurring after sunset, and described victims' characteristics, duration of burial and rescue circumstances compared to daytime avalanches. METHODS: In this retrospective, observational study, we analysed avalanche data from the registry of the Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, from 1998 to 2020. RESULTS: A total of 3892 avalanche victims were included in the analysis, with 72 of the accidents (1.85%) occurring in the nighttime. Nearly 50% of the victims involved in nighttime avalanche accidents were completely buried, compared to about 25% of victims in daytime avalanches. Completely buried victims were rescued by a companion less often at night than in the daytime (15% vs. 51%, p <.001). The search and rescue of completely buried avalanche victims took longer during the nighttime compared to the daytime (median 89 min vs 20 min, p =.002). The probability of survival decreased as the day progressed; it was highest at around midday (63.0%), but decreased at sunset (40.4%) and was the lowest at midnight (28.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Avalanche accidents at night are a rare event, and probability of survival after complete burial is lower during the nighttime compared to the daytime. The most relevant reason for this is the longer duration of burial, which is explained in part by the lower rate of companion rescue and the lower rate of victim localisation with an avalanche transceiver.

Prehospital Use of Ultrathin Reflective Foils.

Ultrathin reflective foils (URFs) are widely used to protect patients from heat loss, but there is no clear evidence that they are effective. We review the physics of thermal insulation by URFs and discuss their clinical applications. A conventional view is that the high reflectivity of the metallic side of the URF is responsible for thermal protection. In most circumstances, the heat radiated from a well-clothed body is minimal and the reflecting properties of a URF are relatively insignificant. The reflection of radiant heat can be impaired by condensation and freezing of the moisture on the inner surface and by a tight fit of the URF against the outermost layer of insulation. The protection by thermal insulating materials depends mostly on the ability to trap air and increases with the number of covering layers. A URF as a single layer may be useful in low wind conditions and moderate ambient temperature, but in cold and windy conditions a URF probably best serves as a waterproof outer covering. When a URF is used to protect against hypothermia in a wilderness emergency, it does not matter whether the gold or silver side is facing outward.

Accidental Hypothermia: 2021 Update.

Accidental hypothermia is an unintentional drop of core temperature below 35 °C. Annually, thousands die of primary hypothermia and an unknown number die of secondary hypothermia worldwide. Hypothermia can be expected in emergency patients in the prehospital phase. Injured and intoxicated patients cool quickly even in subtropical regions. Preventive measures are important to avoid hypothermia or cooling in ill or injured patients. Diagnosis and assessment of the risk of cardiac arrest are based on clinical signs and core temperature measurement when available. Hypothermic patients with risk factors for imminent cardiac arrest (temperature < 30 °C in young and healthy patients and <32 °C in elderly persons, or patients with multiple comorbidities), ventricular dysrhythmias, or systolic blood pressure < 90 mmHg) and hypothermic patients who are already in cardiac arrest, should be transferred directly to an extracorporeal life support (ECLS) centre. If a hypothermic patient arrests, continuous cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) should be performed. In hypothermic patients, the chances of survival and good neurological outcome are higher than for normothermic patients for witnessed, unwitnessed and asystolic cardiac arrest. Mechanical CPR devices should be used for prolonged rescue, if available. In severely hypothermic patients in cardiac arrest, if continuous or mechanical CPR is not possible, intermittent CPR should be used. Rewarming can be accomplished by passive and active techniques. Most often, passive and active external techniques are used. Only in patients with refractory hypothermia or cardiac arrest are internal rewarming techniques required. ECLS rewarming should be performed with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). A post-resuscitation care bundle should complement treatment.

Higher pre-hospital anaesthesia case volumes result in lower mortality rates: implications for mass casualty care.

Senior physicians with a higher pre-hospital anaesthesia case volume have higher first-pass tracheal intubation success rates, shorter on-site times, and lower patient mortality rates than physicians with lower case volumes. A senior physician's skill set includes the basics of management of airway and breathing (ventilating and oxygenating the patient), circulation, disability (anaesthesia), and environment (especially maintaining core temperature). Technical rescue skills may be required to care for patients requiring pre-hospital airway management especially in hazardous environments, such as road traffic accidents, chemical incidents, terror attacks or warfare, and natural disasters. Additional important tactical skills in mass casualty situations include patient triage, prioritising, allocating resources, and making transport decisions.

Crevasse accidents in the Swiss Alps Epidemiology and mortality of 405 victims of crevasse accidents from 2010 to 2020.

INTRODUCTION: The clinical spectrum of injuries in crevasse accidents can range from benign to life-threatening, even including death. To date, little is known about incidence and causes. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed mountain rescue missions that included crevasse accidents and took place in Switzerland from 2010 to 2020. Demographic and epidemiological data were collected. Injury severity was graded according to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) score. Winter season was defined as December to May, and summer season as June to November. RESULTS: A total of 321 victims of crevasse falls were included in the study. The median age of victims was 41.2 years (interqauartile range [IQR] 31.3 to 51.6), with 82% (n=260) being male and 59% (n=186) foreigners. The typical altitude range at which rescue missions were performed was between 3000 and 3499m (44% of all cases). The median depth of the fall was 15 meters (IQR 8 to 20) during the winter season compared to 8 meters (IQR 5 to 10) during the summer, p<0.001. Overall mortality was 6.5%. The NACA score was ≥4 for 9.4% (n=30) of the victims. 55% (n=177) had a NACA score of 0 or 1. There was a significant positive correlation between the depth of fall and the injury severity (Pearson`s correlation r=0.35, 95%- confidence interval: 0.18 to 0.51), p<0.001. CONCLUSION: More than half of victims fallen into a crevasse are uninjured or sustain mild injury. Life-threathening injuries were found in about 10% of victims and the crevasse fall was fatal in 6.5% of cases. Injury severity positively correlates with the depth of fall, which is higher during winter season.

Extracorporeal Life Support in Accidental Hypothermia with Cardiac Arrest-A Narrative Review.

Severely hypothermic patients, especially suffering cardiac arrest, require highly specialized treatment. The most common problems affecting the recognition and treatment seem to be awareness, logistics, and proper planning. In severe hypothermia, pathophysiologic changes occur in the cardiovascular system leading to dysrhythmias, decreased cardiac output, decreased central nervous system electrical activity, cold diuresis, and noncardiogenic pulmonary edema. Cardiac arrest, multiple organ dysfunction, and refractory vasoplegia are indicative of profound hypothermia. The aim of these narrative reviews is to describe the peculiar pathophysiology of patients suffering cardiac arrest from accidental hypothermia. We describe the good chances of neurologic recovery in certain circumstances, even in patients presenting with unwitnessed cardiac arrest, asystole, and the absence of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Guidance on patient selection, prognostication, and treatment, including extracorporeal life support, is given.