Postponing intubation in spontaneously breathing major trauma patients upon emergency room admission does not impair outcome

Abstract Background Multiple screening Duplex ultrasound scans (DUS) are performed in trauma patients at high risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in the intensive care unit (ICU). Intensive care physician performed compression ultrasound (IP-CUS) has shown promise as a diagnostic test for DVT in a non-trauma setting. Whether IP-CUS can be used as a screening test in trauma patients is unknown. Our study aimed to assess the agreement between IP-CUS and vascular sonographer performed DUS for proximal lower extremity deep vein thrombosis (PLEDVT) screening in high-risk trauma patients in ICU. Methods A prospective observational study was conducted at the ICU of Alfred Hospital, a major trauma center in Melbourne, Australia, between Feb and Nov 2015. All adult major trauma patients admitted with high risk for DVT were eligible for inclusion. IP-CUS was performed immediately before or after DUS for PLEDVT screening. The paired studies were repeated twice weekly until the DVT diagnosis, death or ICU discharge. Written informed consent from the patient, or person responsible, or procedural authorisation, was obtained. The individuals performing the scans were blinded to the others’ results. The agreement analysis was performed using Cohen’s Kappa statistics and intraclass correlation coefficient for repeated binary measurements. Results During the study period, 117 patients had 193 pairs of scans, and 45 (39%) patients had more than one pair of scans. The median age (IQR) was 47 (28–68) years with 77% males, mean (SD) injury severity score 27.5 (9.53), and a median (IQR) ICU length of stay 7 (3.2–11.6) days. There were 16 cases (13.6%) of PLEDVT with an incidence rate of 2.6 (1.6–4.2) cases per 100 patient-days in ICU. The overall agreement was 96.7% (95% CI 94.15–99.33). The Cohen’s Kappa between the IP-CUS and DUS was 0.77 (95% CI 0.59–0.95), and the intraclass correlation coefficient for repeated binary measures was 0.75 (95% CI 0.67–0.81). Conclusions There is a substantial agreement between IP-CUS and DUS for PLEDVT screening in trauma patients in ICU with high risk for DVT. Large multicentre studies are needed to confirm this finding.

Download Full-text

Simplified treatment algorithm for the management of trauma-induced hemorrhage without viscoelastic testing

Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open ◽

10.1136/tsaco-2021-000779 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. e000779

Author(s):

Sebastian Casu

Keyword(s):

Major Trauma ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Treatment Algorithm ◽

Standard Of Care ◽

Trauma Team ◽

Trauma Patients ◽

Treatment Protocols ◽

Treatment Algorithms ◽

Number Of Treatment ◽

Uncontrolled Bleeding

Uncontrolled bleeding after major trauma remains a significant cause of death, with up to a third of trauma patients presenting with signs of coagulopathy at hospital admission. Rapid correction of coagulopathy is therefore vital to improve mortality rates and patient outcomes in this population. Early and repeated monitoring of coagulation parameters followed by clear protocols to correct hemostasis is the recommended standard of care for bleeding trauma patients. However, although a number of treatment algorithms are available, these are frequently complex and can rely on the use of viscoelastic testing, which is not available in all treatment centers. We therefore set out to develop a concise and pragmatic algorithm to guide treatment of bleeding trauma patients without the use of point-of-care viscoelastic testing. The algorithm we present here is based on published guidelines and research, includes recommendations regarding treatment and dosing, and is simple and clear enough for even an inexperienced physician to follow. In this way, we have demonstrated that treatment protocols can be developed and adapted to the resources available, to offer clear and relevant guidance to the entire trauma team.

Download Full-text

How Can a Deep Learning Algorithm Improve Fracture Detection on X-rays in the Emergency Room?

Journal of Imaging ◽

10.3390/jimaging7070105 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (7) ◽

pp. 105

Author(s):

Guillaume Reichert ◽

Ali Bellamine ◽

Matthieu Fontaine ◽

Beatrice Naipeanu ◽

Adrien Altar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Deep Learning ◽

Emergency Room ◽

Learning Algorithm ◽

Traumatic Injury ◽

Diagnostic Tools ◽

Appendicular Skeleton ◽

Trauma Patients ◽

X Rays ◽

Fracture Detection ◽

Local Data

The growing need for emergency imaging has greatly increased the number of conventional X-rays, particularly for traumatic injury. Deep learning (DL) algorithms could improve fracture screening by radiologists and emergency room (ER) physicians. We used an algorithm developed for the detection of appendicular skeleton fractures and evaluated its performance for detecting traumatic fractures on conventional X-rays in the ER, without the need for training on local data. This algorithm was tested on all patients (N = 125) consulting at the Louis Mourier ER in May 2019 for limb trauma. Patients were selected by two emergency physicians from the clinical database used in the ER. Their X-rays were exported and analyzed by a radiologist. The prediction made by the algorithm and the annotation made by the radiologist were compared. For the 125 patients included, 25 patients with a fracture were identified by the clinicians, 24 of whom were identified by the algorithm (sensitivity of 96%). The algorithm incorrectly predicted a fracture in 14 of the 100 patients without fractures (specificity of 86%). The negative predictive value was 98.85%. This study shows that DL algorithms are potentially valuable diagnostic tools for detecting fractures in the ER and could be used in the training of junior radiologists.

Download Full-text

Impact of 24/7 Onsite Emergency Radiology Staff Coverage on Emergency Department Workflow

Canadian Association of Radiologists Journal ◽

10.1177/08465371211023861 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 084653712110238

Author(s):

Francesco Macri ◽

Bonnie T. Niu ◽

Shannon Erdelyi ◽

John R. Mayo ◽

Faisal Khosa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emergency Department ◽

Major Trauma ◽

Patient Flow ◽

Interrupted Time Series ◽

Trauma Patients ◽

Linear Regression Models ◽

High Acuity ◽

Time Series Approach ◽

Comparison Series ◽

The Impact

Purpose: Assess the impact of 24/7/365 emergency trauma radiology (ETR) coverage on Emergency Department (ED) patient flow in an urban, quaternary-care teaching hospital. Methods: Patient ED visit and imaging information were extracted from the hospital patient care information system for 2008 to 2018. An interrupted time-series approach with a comparison group was used to study the impact of 24/7/365 ETR on average monthly ED length of stay (ED-LOS) and Emergency Physician to disposition time (EP-DISP). Linear regression models were fit with abrupt and permanent interrupts for 24/7/365 ETR, a coefficient for comparison series and a SARIMA error term; subgroup analyses were performed by patient arrival time, imaging type and chief complaint. Results: During the study period, there were 949,029 ED visits and 739,796 diagnostic tests. Following implementation of 24/7/365 coverage, we found a significant decrease in EP-DISP time for patients requiring only radiographs (-29 min;95%CI:-52,-6) and a significant increase in EP-DISP time for major trauma patients (46 min;95%CI:13,79). No significant change in patient throughput was observed during evening hours for any patient subgroup. For overnight patients, there was a reduction in EP-DISP for patients with symptoms consistent with stroke (-78 min;95%CI:-131,-24) and for high acuity patients who required imaging (-33 min;95%CI:-57,-10). Changes in ED-LOS followed a similar pattern. Conclusions: At our institution, 24/7/365 in-house ETR staff radiology coverage was associated with improved ED flow for patients requiring only radiographs and for overnight stroke and high acuity patients. Major trauma patients spent more time in the ED, perhaps reflecting the required multidisciplinary management.

Download Full-text

Cost-effectiveness of a hybrid emergency room system for severe trauma: a health technology assessment from the perspective of the third-party payer in Japan

World Journal of Emergency Surgery ◽

10.1186/s13017-020-00344-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Takahiro Kinoshita ◽

Kensuke Moriwaki ◽

Nao Hanaki ◽

Tetsuhisa Kitamura ◽

Kazuma Yamakawa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cost Effectiveness ◽

Emergency Room ◽

Healthcare Costs ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Severe Trauma ◽

Third Party ◽

Trauma Patients ◽

Short Term ◽

The Third

Abstract Background Hybrid emergency room (ER) systems, consisting of an angiography-computed tomography (CT) machine in a trauma resuscitation room, are reported to be effective for reducing death from exsanguination in trauma patients. We aimed to investigate the cost-effectiveness of a hybrid ER system in severe trauma patients without severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods We conducted a cost-utility analysis comparing the hybrid ER system to the conventional ER system from the perspective of the third-party healthcare payer in Japan. A short-term decision tree and a long-term Markov model using a lifetime time horizon were constructed to estimate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and associated lifetime healthcare costs. Short-term mortality and healthcare costs were derived from medical records and claims data in a tertiary care hospital with a hybrid ER. Long-term mortality and utilities were extrapolated from the literature. The willingness-to-pay threshold was set at $47,619 per QALY gained and the discount rate was 2%. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted. Results The hybrid ER system was associated with a gain of 1.03 QALYs and an increment of $33,591 lifetime costs compared to the conventional ER system, resulting in an ICER of $32,522 per QALY gained. The ICER was lower than the willingness-to-pay threshold if the odds ratio of 28-day mortality was < 0.66. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis indicated that the hybrid ER system was cost-effective with a 79.3% probability. Conclusion The present study suggested that the hybrid ER system is a likely cost-effective strategy for treating severe trauma patients without severe TBI.

Download Full-text

National temporal variation in major trauma in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Trauma ◽

10.1177/1460408620982264 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 146040862098226

Author(s):

Will Kieffer ◽

Daniel Michalik ◽

Jason Bernard ◽

Omar Bouamra ◽

Benedict Rogers

Keyword(s):

Northern Ireland ◽

Temporal Variation ◽

Major Trauma ◽

Injury Severity ◽

Research Network ◽

Trauma Patients ◽

Trauma Outcomes ◽

Causes Of Mortality ◽

Injured Patients ◽

Time Of Admission

Introduction Trauma is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, but little is known of the temporal variation in major trauma across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Proper workforce and infrastructure planning requires identification of the caseload burden and its temporal variation. Materials and Methods The Trauma Audit Research Network (TARN) database for admissions attending Major Trauma Centres (MTCs) between 1st April 2011 and 31st March 2018 was analysed. TARN records data on all trauma patients admitted to hospital who are alive at the time of admission to hospital. Major trauma was classified as an Injury Severity Score (ISS) >15. Results A total of 158,440 cases were analysed. Case ascertainment was over 95% for 2013 onwards. There was a statistically significant variation in caseload by year (p < 0.0001), times of admissions (p < 0.0001), caseload admitted during weekends vs weekdays, 53% vs 47% (p < 0.0001), caseload by season with most patients admitted during summer (p < 0.0001). The ISS varied by time of admission with most patients admitted between 1800 and 0559 (p < 0.0001), weekend vs weekday with more severely injured patients admitted during the weekend (p < 0.0001) and by season p < 0.0001). Discussion and Conclusion: There is a significant national temporal variation in major trauma workload. The reasons are complex and there are multiple theories and confounding factors to explain it. This is the largest dataset for hospitals submitting to TARN which can help guide workforce and resource allocation to further improve trauma outcomes.

Download Full-text

291 Pre-Operative Venepuncture: An Audit of The Trauma and Orthopaedic Department at The Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton

British Journal of Surgery ◽

10.1093/bjs/znab134.398 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 108 (Supplement_2) ◽

Author(s):

H Harris ◽

T Antonio ◽

A Hagiga ◽

D Crone

Keyword(s):

Major Trauma ◽

Elective Surgery ◽

Financial Burden ◽

Trauma Patients ◽

Minor Trauma ◽

Inclusion Criteria ◽

Blood Testing ◽

Orthopaedic Department ◽

Minor Surgery ◽

Routine Coagulation

Abstract Background NICE recommends that patients undergoing intermediate or minor elective surgery do not need routine coagulation or transfusion blood testing unless they are ASA 3+ or taking anticoagulation mediation, where testing may be considered. Currently there is no guidance for trauma patients. Method We identified all patients that underwent intermediate or minor trauma and orthopaedic surgery within a three-month period from December 2019- February 2020 at the RSCH. We excluded major trauma patients, patients taking anticoagulants and patients with complex admission or past medical history. Computer records were used to identify pre-operative investigations and admission history. Results 843 patients met our inclusion criteria. In total, 92 clotting studies and 200 transfusion samples were taken preoperatively. The majority of tests were for patients undergoing ankle 130/292 (45%) or Tibia/Fibula 54/292 (18%) procedures. This equates to approximately 1168 blood tests per year. Based on the lab cost of £15.97 for a transfusion sample and £18 for a coagulation sample, this is a cost of approximately £19,616 each year on blood testing that is not indicated. Discussion We hope that by presenting these results we will help reduce the unnecessary time and financial burden of routine venipuncture in departments undertaking intermediate and minor surgery.

Download Full-text