Intraosseous or Intravenous Vascular Access for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest.

BACKGROUND: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death worldwide. Establishing vascular access is critical for administering guideline-recommended drugs during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Both the intraosseous route and the intravenous route are used routinely, but their comparative effectiveness remains unclear. METHODS: We conducted a randomized clinical trial to compare the effectiveness of initial attempts at intraosseous or intravenous vascular access in adults who had nontraumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The primary outcome was a sustained return of spontaneous circulation. Key secondary outcomes were survival at 30 days and survival at 30 days with a favorable neurologic outcome, defined by a score of 0 to 3 on the modified Rankin scale (scores range from 0 to 6, with higher scores indicating greater disability). RESULTS: Among 1506 patients who underwent randomization, 1479 were included in the primary analysis (731 in the intraosseous-access group and 748 in the intravenous-access group). The successful establishment of vascular access within two attempts occurred in 669 patients (92%) assigned to the intraosseous-access group and in 595 patients (80%) assigned to the intravenous-access group. Sustained return of spontaneous circulation occurred in 221 patients (30%) in the intraosseous-access group and in 214 patients (29%) in the intravenous-access group (risk ratio, 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.90 to 1.24; P = 0.49). At 30 days, 85 patients (12%) in the intraosseous-access group and 75 patients (10%) in the intravenous-access group were alive (risk ratio, 1.16; 95% CI, 0.87 to 1.56); a favorable neurologic outcome at 30 days occurred in 67 patients (9%) and 59 patients (8%), respectively (risk ratio, 1.16; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.62). Prespecified adverse events were uncommon. CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant difference in sustained return of spontaneous circulation between initial intraosseous and intravenous vascular access in adults who had out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. (Funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and others; IVIO EU Clinical Trials Register number, 2022-500744-38-00; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT05205031.).

Prehospital and In-Hospital Treatment with Adrenaline and Related Prognosis in Anaphylaxis Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Although intramuscular adrenaline is the recommended first-line treatment for anaphylaxis, not all patients receive this treatment. The consequences in daily clinical practice are sparsely described. This study aimed to investigate the treatment administered to anaphylactic patients and the related prognosis. METHODS: A retrospective register-based study of patients with anaphylaxis referred to the allergy centre, Odense University Hospital (2019-2021). Each patient's medical records were reviewed for contacts with the emergency departments and the prehospital emergency medical service in the Region of Southern Denmark. The World Allergy Organization (WAO) grading system was used to assess the severity of prehospital and in-hospital anaphylaxis. Furthermore, the treatment administered to the patients was registered. RESULTS: In total, 315 patients were included. The prehospital system had contact with 256 of these patients (two were released prehospitally following treatment and 12 patients had insufficient data to assess anaphylaxis). Of the remaining 242 patients, 115 had anaphylaxis prehospitally (WAO grades 3-5); 59% (67/115) received adrenaline. Among the 67 patients who received prehospital adrenaline, 9 patients (13.4%; 95% CI: 6.3-24.0%) still had anaphylaxis at arrival at the emergency department. Of the 48 patients that were not treated with prehospital adrenaline, 17 patients (35.5%; 95% CI: 22.1-50.5) had anaphylaxis at the arrival to the emergency department. Among the 127 patients without prehospital anaphylaxis (WAO grades 0-2), 22 patients (18.2%; 95% CI: 11.8-26.2%) who did not receive prehospital adrenaline had anaphylaxis at arrival to the emergency department, while none of the 6 patients treated prehospitally with adrenaline had anaphylaxis. CONCLUSION: Omission of prehospital adrenaline in anaphylactic patients is associated with more severe anaphylactic symptoms at arrival to the hospital. Adrenaline treatment remains suboptimal since only half of the patients received prehospital adrenaline and only 1 out of 4 patients, with clinical signs of anaphylaxis, received adrenaline inside the hospital.

Ambulance and helicopter response time. Association with patient outcome and illness severity: Protocol of a systematic literature review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Response time for emergency medical service units is a key performance indicator. Studies have shown reduced response time association with improved outcome for specific critical conditions. To achieve short response time, emergency vehicles utilize lights and sirens, and crews are allowed to be non-compliant with traffic rules, posing a risk for accident. The purpose of the systematic review and meta-analysis is to provide an overview of the current body of evidence regarding the association, if any, between ambulance and helicopter response time and major complications and mortality in patients conveyed by ambulance and/or helicopter. Our secondary aim will be to enhance knowledge in the field of criteria-based dispatch to provide decision makers with evidence to optimize dispatch of limited resources. RESEARCH QUESTIONS: What is the association between overall emergency medical services unit response time and patient outcomes, major complications, and time-critical conditions? What is the internal and external validity of the included literature? METHODS: We plan the systematic review and meta-analysis to be in accordance with the Cochrane Handbook and Joanna Briggs Institute Manual for Systematic Reviews. The methodology will include formulating the review questions using a Population, Exposure, and Outcome framework. Every study design is eligible, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods designs. We will include all articles in English, Scandinavian, German, French and Portuguese in this systematic review. RESULTS: We will publish results from the systematic review and meta-analysis in a peer-reviewed journal and we will present the results at scientific conferences and meetings. Results will also be available at www.ahrtemis.dk. CONCLUSION: We will base our conclusions on the findings of the review and meta-analysis.

How prehospital emergency personnel manage ethical challenges: the importance of confidence, trust, and safety.

BACKGROUND: Ethical challenges constitute an inseparable part of daily decision-making processes in all areas of healthcare. Ethical challenges are associated with moral distress that can lead to burnout. Clinical ethics support has proven useful to address and manage such challenges. This paper explores how prehospital emergency personnel manage ethical challenges. The study is part of a larger action research project to develop and test an approach to clinical ethics support that is sensitive to the context of emergency medicine. METHODS: We explored ethical challenges and management strategies in three focus groups, with 15 participants in total, each attended by emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and prehospital anaesthesiologists. Focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The approach to data analysis was systematic text condensation approach. RESULTS: We stratified the management of ethical challenges into actions before, during, and after incidents. Before incidents, participants stressed the importance of mutual understandings, shared worldviews, and a supportive approach to managing emotions. During an incident, the participants employed moral perception, moral judgments, and moral actions. After an incident, the participants described sharing ethical challenges only to a limited extent as sharing was emotionally challenging, and not actively supported by workplace culture, or organisational procedures. The participants primarily managed ethical challenges informally, often using humour to cope. CONCLUSION: Our analysis supports and clarifies that confidence, trust, and safety in relation to colleagues, management, and the wider organisation are essential for prehospital emergency personnel to share ethical challenges and preventing moral distress turning into burnout.

Mobile emergency department care to nursing home residents: a novel outreach service.

BACKGROUND: Every month, 6% of Danish nursing home residents are admitted to hospital. However, these admissions might have limited benefits and are associated with an increased risk of complications. We initiated a new mobile service comprising consultants performing emergency care in nursing homes. OBJECTIVE: Describe the new service, the recipients of this service, hospital admission patterns and 90-day mortality. DESIGN: A descriptive observational study. MODEL: When an ambulance is requested to a nursing home, the emergency medical dispatch centre simultaneously dispatches a consultant from the emergency department who will provide an emergency evaluation and decisions regarding treatment at the scene in collaboration with municipal acute care nurses. METHOD: We describe the characteristics of all nursing home contacts from 1st November 2020 to 31st December 2021. The outcome measures were hospital admissions and 90-day mortality. Data were extracted from the patients' electronic hospital records and prospectively registered data. RESULTS: We identified 638 contacts (495 individuals). The new service had a median of two (interquartile range: 2-3) new contacts per day. The most frequent diagnoses were related to infections, unspecific symptoms, falls, trauma and neurologic disease. Seven out of eight residents remained at home following treatment, 20% had an unplanned hospital admission within 30 days and 90-day mortality was 36.4%. CONCLUSION: Transitioning emergency care from hospitals to nursing homes could present an opportunity for providing optimised care to a vulnerable population and limiting unnecessary transfers and admissions to hospitals.

Remote Ischemic Conditioning for Acute Stroke: The RESIST Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Despite some promising preclinical and clinical data, it remains uncertain whether remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) with transient cycles of limb ischemia and reperfusion is an effective treatment for acute stroke. Objective: To evaluate the effect of RIC when initiated in the prehospital setting and continued in the hospital on functional outcome in patients with acute stroke. Design, Setting, and Participants: This was a randomized clinical trial conducted at 4 stroke centers in Denmark that included 1500 patients with prehospital stroke symptoms for less than 4 hours (enrolled March 16, 2018, to November 11, 2022; final follow-up, February 3, 2023). Intervention: The intervention was delivered using an inflatable cuff on 1 upper extremity (RIC cuff pressure, ≤200 mm Hg [n = 749] and sham cuff pressure, 20 mm Hg [n = 751]). Each treatment application consisted of 5 cycles of 5 minutes of cuff inflation followed by 5 minutes of cuff deflation. Treatment was started in the ambulance and repeated at least once in the hospital and then twice daily for 7 days among a subset of participants. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was improvement in functional outcome measured as a shift across the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score (range, 0 [no symptoms] to 6 [death]) at 90 days in the target population with a final diagnosis of ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. Results: Among 1500 patients who were randomized (median age, 71 years; 591 women [41%]), 1433 (96%) completed the trial. Of these, 149 patients (10%) were diagnosed with transient ischemic attack and 382 (27%) with a stroke mimic. In the remaining 902 patients with a target diagnosis of stroke (737 [82%] with ischemic stroke and 165 [18%] with intracerebral hemorrhage), 436 underwent RIC and 466 sham treatment. The median mRS score at 90 days was 2 (IQR, 1-3) in the RIC group and 1 (IQR, 1-3) in the sham group. RIC treatment was not significantly associated with improved functional outcome at 90 days (odds ratio [OR], 0.95; 95% CI, 0.75 to 1.20, P = .67; absolute difference in median mRS score, -1; -1.7 to -0.25). In all randomized patients, there were no significant differences in the number of serious adverse events: 169 patients (23.7%) in the RIC group with 1 or more serious adverse events vs 175 patients (24.3%) in the sham group (OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.85 to 1.11; P = .68). Upper extremity pain during treatment and/or skin petechia occurred in 54 (7.2%) in the RIC group and 11 (1.5%) in the sham group. Conclusions and Relevance: RIC initiated in the prehospital setting and continued in the hospital did not significantly improve functional outcome at 90 days in patients with acute stroke. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03481777.

Traumatic cardiac arrest - a nationwide Danish study.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac arrest following trauma is a leading cause of death, mandating urgent treatment. This study aimed to investigate and compare the incidence, prognostic factors, and survival between patients suffering from traumatic cardiac arrest (TCA) and non-traumatic cardiac arrest (non-TCA). METHODS: This cohort study included all patients suffering from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Denmark between 2016 and 2021. TCAs were identified in the prehospital medical record and linked to the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest registry. Descriptive and multivariable analyses were performed with 30-day survival as the primary outcome. RESULTS: A total of 30,215 patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrests were included. Among those, 984 (3.3%) were TCA. TCA patients were younger and predominantly male (77.5% vs 63.6%, p = < 0.01) compared to non-TCA patients. Return of spontaneous circulation occurred in 27.3% of cases vs 32.3% in non-TCA patients, p < 0.01, and 30-day survival was 7.3% vs 14.2%, p < 0.01. An initial shockable rhythm was associated with increased survival (aOR = 11.45, 95% CI [6.24 - 21.24] in TCA patients. When comparing TCA with non-TCA other trauma and penetrating trauma were associated with lower survival (aOR: 0.2, 95% CI [0.02-0.54] and aOR: 0.1, 95% CI [0.03 - 0.31], respectively. Non-TCA was associated with an aOR: 3.47, 95% CI [2.53 - 4,91]. CONCLUSION: Survival from TCA is lower than in non-TCA. TCA has different predictors of outcome compared to non-TCA, illustrating the differences regarding the aetiologies of cardiac arrest. Presenting with an initial shockable cardiac rhythm might be associated with a favourable outcome in TCA.

Pediatric Emergencies in Helicopter Emergency Medical Services: A National Population-Based Cohort Study From Denmark.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To examine the diagnostic pattern, level of severity of illness or injuries, and mortality among children for whom a physician-staffed helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) was dispatched. METHODS: Population-based cohort study including patients aged less than 16 years treated by the Danish national HEMS from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 2018. Diagnoses were retrieved from inhospital medical records, and the severity of illness or injuries was assessed by a severity score on scene, administration of advanced out-of-hospital care, need for intensive care in a hospital, and mortality. RESULTS: In total, 651 HEMS missions included pediatric patients aged less than 1 year (9.2%), 1 to 2 years (29.0%), 3 to 7 years (28.3%), and 8 to 15 years (33.5%). A third of the patients had critical emergencies (29.6%), and for 20.1% of the patients, 1 or more out-of-hospital interventions were performed: intubation, mechanical chest compressions, intraosseous vascular access, blood transfusion, chest tube insertion, and/or ultrasound examination. Among the 525 patients with hospital follow-up, the most frequent hospital diagnoses were injuries (32.2%), burns (11.2%), and respiratory diseases (7.8%). Within 24 hours of the mission, 18.1% of patients required intensive care. Twenty-nine patients (5.1%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.6 to 7.3) died either on or within 1 day of the mission, and the cumulative 30-day mortality was 35 of 565 (6.2%, 95% CI 4.5 to 8.5) (N=565 first-time missions). CONCLUSION: On Danish physician-staffed HEMS missions, 1 in 5 pediatric patients required advanced out-of-hospital care. Among hospitalized patients, nearly one-fifth of the patients required immediate intensive care and 6.2% died within 30 days of the mission.

Healthcare professionals' experience with emergency department-based acute care performed within nursing homes.

BACKGROUND: hospital admissions of residents from nursing homes often lead to delirium, infections, mortality and reduced functional capacity. We initiated a new service, 'emergency department-based acute care service', maintained by consultants from an emergency department (ED) moving emergency care from the hospitals into nursing homes. OBJECTIVE: this study explored healthcare professionals' experiences with this service. DESIGN: qualitative semi-structured focus group discussions. INTERVENTION/SETTING: the new service provides acute on-site evaluation and treatment to nursing home residents following calls to the emergency dispatch centre. METHODS: we conducted focus groups with general practitioners, prehospital personnel, municipal acute care nurses, ED staff and nursing home staff. The analysis was performed using the iterative and explorative approach, 'systematic text condensation'. RESULTS: the participants considered the service as a meaningful and appropriate alternative to hospital admission, as the treatment can be tailored to meet the residents' wishes and daily capabilities. This was experienced to promote dignity for the residents by reducing unnecessary transfers to the ED and the residents could remain in familiar surroundings with staff who knew their habitual behaviour and history. The nursing home staff contributed valuable information to the ED consultants' decision-making. The service made it possible to base the decision-making on complete patient pictures, as the ED consultants had the time to get to understand the residents. CONCLUSION: acute care at nursing homes provides an alternative to routine admissions to hospitals and enables healthcare professionals to provide more dignity in the care of nursing home residents.

International initiation and termination of resuscitation practices: Protocol of a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Substantial variation in survival following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is described both internationally and nationally. The Utstein factors account for half of the variation, but the remaining is not fully understood. Local regulations or guidelines concerning the withholding and termination of resuscitation may influence the reporting of cardiac arrests when comparing outcomes between different Emergency Medical Service systems. METHOD: We have developed an online cross-sectional mixed-methods explanatory design survey aimed at describing the international and national variations in the initiation, the termination of resuscitation, and the refraining from resuscitation of adult patients (>18 years of age) suffering from non-traumatic OHCA. The respondents will be national experts and the questionnaire will be distributed among members of European Prehospital Research Alliance, the International Liaison Committee of Resuscitation, the European Resuscitation Council, and the Resuscitation Academy. Each invited country will have to identify at least two national experts with special expertise in prehospital resuscitation practices. We exclude countries with less than two respondents. RESULTS: The survey will provide both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data will be presented as frequencies and proportions. Qualitative data will be analyzed using content analysis. CONCLUSION: This survey could be of importance in understanding the multiple factors leading to the substantial variation in survival found following OHCA. Furthermore, the interpretation of future studies on OHCA from different settings may be improved to further increase survival following OHCA.

Ethical challenges experienced by prehospital emergency personnel: a practice-based model of analysis.

BACKGROUND: Ethical challenges constitute an inseparable part of daily decision-making processes in all areas of healthcare. In prehospital emergency medicine, decision-making commonly takes place in everyday life, under time pressure, with limited information about a patient and with few possibilities of consultation with colleagues. This paper explores the ethical challenges experienced by prehospital emergency personnel. METHODS: The study was grounded in the tradition of action research related to interventions in health care. Ethical challenges were explored in three focus groups, each attended by emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and prehospital anaesthesiologists. The participants, 15 in total, were recruited through an internal information network of the emergency services. Focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. RESULTS: The participants described ethical challenges arising when clinical guidelines, legal requirements, and clinicians' professional and personal value systems conflicted and complicated decision-making processes. The challenges centred around treatment at the end of life, intoxicated and non-compliant patients, children as patients-and their guardians, and the collaboration with relatives in various capacities. Other challenges concerned guarding the safety of oneself, colleagues and bystanders, prioritising scarce resources, and staying loyal to colleagues with different value systems. Finally, challenges arose when summoned to situations where other professionals had failed to make a decision or take action when attending to patients whose legitimate needs were not met by the appropriate medical or social services, and when working alongside representatives of authorities with different roles, responsibilities and tasks. CONCLUSION: From the perspective of the prehospital emergency personnel, ethical challenges arise in three interrelated contexts: when caring for patients, in the prehospital emergency unit, and during external collaboration. Value conflicts may be identified within these contexts as well as across them. A proposed model of analysis integrating the above contexts can assist in shedding light on ethical challenges and value conflicts in other health care settings. The model emphasises that ethical challenges are experienced from a particular professional perspective, in the context of the task at hand, and in a particular, the organisational setting that includes work schedules, medical guidelines, legal requirements, as well as professional and personal value systems.

Increased ambulance on-scene times but unaffected response times during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Southern Denmark.

BACKGROUND: During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lockdown was imposed on the Danish society. Reports from other countries that were hit by the COVID-19 pandemic before Denmark instilled fear of flooding of the emergency departments. To mitigate this flooding, increased competencies were conveyed to the paramedics in the ambulances aiming to allow for a release of a higher number of patients prehospitally. The increased competencies in the prehospital personnel were expected to increase the on-scene time and thus the total workload of the ambulances potentially resulting in delays in the acute care. We sought to elucidate the effects of the pandemic on the workload of the prehospital system during the first wave. METHODS: This was a retrospective study using operational data from the regional emergency medical dispatch centre in the Region of Southern Denmark. We collected the number of ambulance runs, the response times, the on-scene times, and the mission outcome of all ambulance runs with lights and sirens in the Region of Southern Denmark during the first wave of the pandemic. We compared the numbers with a similar period in the year before. RESULTS: Compared with the year before the pandemic we observed a 10.3% reduction in call volume and a corresponding reduction in the total number of missions with lights and sirens. We found an increase in on-scene times in both missions with patients conveyed to hospital (20.6 min vs. 18.7 min) and missions with non-conveyed patients (37.4 min versus 30.7 min). The response times were unaffected. CONCLUSION: The increased on-scene times of the ambulances may largely be attributed to time utilised to exert the increased competencies concerning treat-and-release of patients.. Despite an increased on-scene time of the ambulances, we believe that the combination of a reduction in the number of total missions and the existing capacity in the ambulance service in the Region of Southern Denmark nullified the prolongation of ambulance response times that was seen in other countries during the pandemic. This capacity allowed for time spent performing in-depth examinations of patients with the potential to be released at the scene.

Accuracy of a point-of-care blood lactate measurement device in a prehospital setting.

Point-of-care blood lactate is a promising prognostic biomarker of short-term mortality risk. Portable lactate meters need validation in the prehospital setting before widespread implementation and it is unknown whether the mode of sampling (arterial, capillary or venous) matters. This study aims to compare the StatStrip Xpress Lactate Meter's (SSX) accuracy to a validated blood gas analyser, ABL90 FLEX (ABL90), in arterial samples in the prehospital environment and to determine if lactate levels measured in venous and capillary blood samples are sufficiently accurate compared to arterial lactate levels. Patients with arterial samples drawn by the prehospital anaesthesiologist for any reason were eligible for inclusion. Simultaneously, three blood samples (arterial, capillary and venous) were analysed on SSX and arterial blood on ABL90. Measurements of agreements were evaluated by Lin's concordance correlations coefficient (CCC) and Bland-Altman Plots. One-hundred-and-eleven patients were included. SSX showed good accuracy compared to ABL90 in arterial samples with a CCC of 0.92 (95% CI 0.90-0.94). Compared to the arterial samples measured on ABL90, venous samples analysed on SSX showed higher agreement than capillary samples analysed on SSX with CCCs of 0.88 (95% CI 0.85-0.91) and 0.79 (95% CI 0.72-0.85), respectively. Bland-Altman plots showed that SSX lactate measurements in arterial, venous and capillary blood samples all had systematically negative biases compared to ABL90. We conclude that the SSX is accurate in our prehospital setting. Venous samples should be preferred over capillary samples, when arterial samples cannot be obtained.

Pre-hospital antibiotic therapy preceded by blood cultures in a physician-manned mobile emergency care unit.

BACKGROUND: Rapid recognition and antibiotic treatment, preferably preceded by blood cultures (BCs), is a mainstay in sepsis therapy. The objective of this investigation was to determine if pre-hospital BCs were feasible and drawn with an acceptably low level of contamination and to investigate whether pre-hospital antibiotics were administered on correct indications. METHODS: We performed a register-based study in a pre-hospital physician-manned mobile emergency care unit (MECU) operating in a mixed urban/rural area in Denmark. All patients who received pre-hospital antibiotics by the MECU from November 2013 to October 2018 were reviewed. Outcome measures were characterisation of microbial findings and subsequent in-hospital confirmation of the pre-hospital indication for antibiotics. RESULTS: One-hundred-and-nineteen patients received antibiotics pre-hospitally. Six were excluded. One-hundred-and-thirteen patients were included in the study. BCs were drawn in 107 of the 113 patients (94.7% [88.8%-98.0%]). We found a true pathogen of sepsis in 29 (27.1% [19.0%-36.6%]) of these 107 patients. Nine (8.4% [3.9%-15.4%]) patients had contaminated pre-hospital BCs. Forty-nine of all patients (36.3% [27.4%-45.9%]) had causative pathogens in either their BCs or other samples confirming the pre-hospital tentative diagnosis. Eighty-two (72.6% [63.4%-80.5%]) patients received antibiotic therapy in-hospitally, while 27 (23.9% [16.4%-32.8%]) were assigned an in-hospital diagnosis not associated with infection. Four (3.5% [1.0%-8.8%]) patients died in hospital before a diagnosis was established. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-hospital administration of antibiotics preceded by BCs is feasible, although with somewhat high blood culture contamination rates. Antibiotics are administered on reasonable indications.

Prehospital emergency medical technicians can perform ultrasonography and blood analysis in prehospital evaluation of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a feasibility study.

INTRODUCTION: Crowding of the emergency departments is an increasing problem. Many patients with an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are often treated in the emergency departments for a very short period before discharged to their homes. It is possible that this treatment could take place in the patients' homes with sufficient diagnostics supporting the treatment. In an effort to keep the diagnostics and treatment of some of these patients in their homes and thus to reduce the patient load at the emergency departments, we implemented a prehospital treat-and-release strategy based on ultrasonography and blood testing performed by emergency medical technicians (EMT) or paramedics (PM) in patients with acute exacerbation of COPD. METHOD: EMTs and PMs were enrolled in a six-hour educational program covering ultrasonography of the lungs and point of care blood tests. During the seasonal peak of COPD exacerbations (October 2018 - May 2019) all patients who were treated by the ambulance crews for respiratory insufficiency were screened in the ambulances. If the patient had uncomplicated COPD not requiring immediate transport to the hospital, ultrasonographic examination of the lungs, measurements of C-reactive protein and venous blood gases analyses were performed. The response to the initial treatment and the results obtained were discussed via telemedical consultation with a prehospital anaesthesiologist who then decided to either release the patient at the scene or to have the patient transported to the hospital. The primary outcome was strategy feasibility. RESULTS: We included 100 EMTs and PMs in the study. During the study period, 771 patients with respiratory insufficiency were screened. Uncomplicated COPD was rare as only 41patients were treated according to the treat-and-release strategy. Twenty of these patients (49%) were released at the scene. In further ten patients, technical problems were encountered hindering release at the scene. CONCLUSION: In a few selected patients with suspected acute exacerbations of COPD, it was technically and organisationally feasible for EMTs and PMs to perform prehospital POCT-ultrasound and laboratory testing and release the patients following treatment. None of the patients released at the scene requested a secondary ambulance within the first 48 h following the intervention.

Documentation of ethically relevant information in out-of-hospital resuscitation is rare: a Danish nationwide observational study of 16,495 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.

BACKGROUND: Decision-making in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest should ideally include clinical and ethical factors. Little is known about the extent of ethical considerations and their influence on prehospital resuscitation. We aimed to determine the transparency in medical records regarding decision-making in prehospital resuscitation with a specific focus on ethically relevant information and consideration in resuscitation providers' documentation. METHODS: This was a Danish nationwide retrospective observational study of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests from 2016 through 2018. After an initial screening using broadly defined inclusion criteria, two experienced philosophers performed a qualitative content analysis of the included medical records according to a preliminary codebook. We identified ethically relevant content in free-text fields and categorised the information according to Beauchamp and Childress' four basic bioethical principles: autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice. RESULTS: Of 16,495 medical records, we identified 759 (4.6%) with potentially relevant information; 710 records (4.3%) contained ethically relevant information, whereas 49 did not. In general, the documentation was vague and unclear. We identified four kinds of ethically relevant information: patients' wishes and perspectives on life; relatives' wishes and perspectives on patients' life; healthcare professionals' opinions and perspectives on resuscitation; and do-not-resuscitate orders. We identified some "best practice" examples that included all perspectives of decision-making. CONCLUSIONS: There is sparse and unclear evidence on ethically relevant information in the medical records documenting resuscitation after out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. However, the "best practice" examples show that providing sufficient documentation of decision-making is, in fact, feasible. To ensure transparency surrounding prehospital decisions in cardiac arrests, we believe that it is necessary to ensure more systematic documentation of decision-making in prehospital resuscitation.

Physicians' experiences working in emergency medicine in a rural area in Northern Sweden: a qualitative study.

INTRODUCTION: Working in emergency medicine in rural areas may entail challenges due to absence of medical backup, difficulties in logistics, lack of healthcare system coordination, and, potentially, feelings of loneliness. The aim of this study was to elucidate the experiences of physicians working in an emergency medical setting in a rural area in Northern Sweden. METHODS: A qualitative study was performed based on semi-structured interviews. Six physicians were interviewed. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using the systematic text condensation method. RESULTS: Rural physicians described thriving in the rural environment. Four main themes were identified as important to their wellbeing and job satisfaction. They described close relations to the nearest referral centre, where they felt connected to the personnel in the centre. The participants described this as a crucial factor aiding their everyday work in emergency medicine. The rural physicians underlined educational and professional development individually, in teams training sessions, and through the locally created rural residency program for rural GPs as important. They expressed an adaptability to the rural environment and described having a problem-solving attitude. Additionally they found a functional transport system crucial as part of their workflow. CONCLUSION: Overall, the rural physicians thrived in the rural environment where interpersonal relations and creative initiatives along with a customised rural residency program prepared the physicians to work in rural areas. Despite the long distances between hospitals and health clinics, the physicians rarely felt alone in the field and the general well-functioning transport system with possibility for improvisations aided them in medical emergencies.

Ketamine as an Anesthetic for Patients with Acute Brain Injury: A Systematic Review.

For years, the use of ketamine as an anesthetic to patients suffering from acute brain injury has been debated because of its possible deleterious effects on the cerebral circulation and thus on the cerebral perfusion. Early studies suggested that ketamine could increase the intracranial pressure thus lowering the cerebral perfusion and hence reduce the oxygen supply to the injured brain. However, more recent studies are less conclusive and might even indicate that patients with acute brain injury could benefit from ketamine sedation. This systematic review summarizes the evidence regarding the use of ketamine in patients suffering from traumatic brain injury. Databases were searched for studies using ketamine in acute brain injury. Outcomes of interest were mortality, intracranial pressure, cerebral perfusion pressure, blood pressure, heart rate, spreading depolarizations, and neurological function. In total 11 studies were included. The overall level of evidence concerning the use of ketamine in brain injury is low. Only two studies found a small increase in intracranial pressure, while two small studies found decreased levels of intracranial pressure following ketamine administration. We found no evidence of harm during ketamine use in patients suffering from acute brain injury.

Prehospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation with manual or mechanical chest compression: A study of compression-induced injuries.

OBJECTIVE: Concerns for iatrogenic injuries associated with cardiopulmonary resuscitation led us to investigate the extent and the pattern of chest compression-related injuries in patients subjected to either mechanical and/or manual cardiac compression. METHOD: In a retrospective study, we performed a manual review of all prehospital discharge reports, in-hospital records, and autopsy reports for evidence of injuries related to chest compression. We included all patients receiving physician-administrated treatment for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the Region of Southern Denmark from 2015 to 2017. RESULTS: Eighty four patients undergoing manual and mechanical chest compression and 353 patients with manual chest compression only were included. Unadjusted, mechanical chest compression as an adjunct was associated with a higher risk of injuries than manual chest compression (P < 0.001, odds ratio, OR 3.10). Adjusted for the duration of compression, this difference waned. Visceral injuries were more frequent in patients receiving mechanical chest compression even when adjusted for the duration of compression, age, sex, body mass index and anticoagulant therapy (P < 0.001, OR 29.84). We found a higher incidence of potentially life-threatening injuries in patients receiving mechanical chest compression. The occurrence of injuries overall was associated with the duration of chest compression (P = 0.02, OR 1.02). CONCLUSION: Mechanical chest compression as an adjunct to manual chest compression was strongly associated with potentially life-threatening visceral injuries. The duration of chest compression was associated with injury. Our results suggest that mechanical chest compression should only be applied in situations where manual chest compression is unfeasible.

Asymmetry and pelvic movements 6 months after total hip replacement Secondary analyses from a randomized controlled trial.

The aim was to investigate gait asymmetry and pelvic range of motion during walking and stair ascending after total hip replacement, and secondly to test whether these parameters were influenced by resistance training. A consecutive sample of 32 patients within a randomized controlled trial (control versus exercise group) was included. Speed, asymmetry and pelvic range of motion (walk and stair test) and leg power were measured preoperative, 10weeks and 6 months postoperative. Walking and stair ascending speed, leg power and pelvic movements (frontal plane) during walking increased to 6 months follow up (p<0.005). There were no significant changes in gait asymmetry or the remaining pelvic movements (p>0.05) and no between-group differences. Pelvic movements in the frontal plane during walking increased after surgery. No changes occurred in gait asymmetry and pelvic movements 6 months after total hip replacement while leg power and speed during walking and stair ascending increased significantly.