Prehospital Tourniquet Use Should be a Trauma Team Activation Criterion.

Purpose Prehospital tourniquet application is not a standard trauma team activation (TTA) criterion recommended by the ACS COT. Tourniquet use has seen a resurgence recently with associated risks and benefits of more liberal usage. Our institution added tourniquet application as TTA criterion in January 2019. This study aimed to evaluate the effect this would have on patient care and overtriage. Methods A prospective analysis was conducted for all TTA associated with tourniquets placed during 2019. An overtriage analysis was conducted utilizing a modified Cribari method as described in Resources for the Optimal Care of the Injured Patient, comparing patients that met standard TTA criteria (TTA-S), to those who met criteria due to tourniquet placement (TTA-T). Results During the study, there were 46 TTA with tourniquets. Mean prehospital tourniquet time was 80 minutes. Median ISS was 10, 8 (17%) had an ISS >15. Urgent operative intervention was needed in 74%, with 23% and 21% requiring orthopedic and vascular procedures, respectively. Tourniquets were correctly placed in 80% and clinically appropriate in 57%. Of these subjects, 25 (54%) were TTA-S and 21 TTA-T. Overtriage analysis was performed. Overtriage for TTA-T was 33.3%. Overtriage among TTA-S was 4%. Conclusion Patients with prehospital tourniquets are frequently severely injured. The immediate presence of a trauma surgeon can have significant impacts in these cases. This is particularly important in a rural environment with long tourniquet times. Prehospital tourniquet application as a TTA criteria does not result in excessive overtriage.

Prehospital Variables Alone Can Predict Mortality After Blunt Trauma: A Novel Scoring Tool

Background We sought to develop a novel Prehospital Injury Mortality Score (PIMS) to predict blunt trauma mortality using only prehospital variables. Study Design The 2017 Trauma Quality Improvement Program database was queried and divided into two equal sized sets at random (derivation and validation sets). Multiple logistic regression models were created to determine the risk of mortality using age, sex, mechanism, and trauma activation criterion. The PIMS was derived using the weighted average of each independent predictor. The discriminative power of the scoring tool was assessed by calculating the area under the receiver operating characteristics (AUROC) curve. The PIMS ability to predict mortality was then assessed by using the validation cohort. The score was compared to the Revised Trauma Score (RTS) using the AUROC curve, including a subgroup of patients with normal vital signs. Results The derivation and validation groups each consisted of 163 694 patients. Seven independent predictors of mortality were identified, and the PIMS was derived with scores ranging from 0 to 20. The mortality rate increased from 1.4% to 43.9% and then 100% at scores of 1, 10, and 19, respectively. The model had very good discrimination with an AUROC of .79 in both the derivation and validation groups. When compared to the RTS, the AUROC were similar (.79 vs. .78). On subgroup analysis of patients with normal prehospital vital signs, the PIMS was superior to the RTS (.73 vs. .56). Conclusion The PIMS is a novel scoring tool to predict mortality in blunt trauma patients using prehospital variables. It had improved discriminatory power in blunt trauma patients with normal vital signs compared to the RTS.

Analysis of Experimental Research Results Obtained for Grain Drying With Electrically Activated Air

This chapter presents an analysis of factors influencing the heat and moisture exchange for their further use in experimental research to study the process of grain drying with active ventilation. The temperature and velocity of the drying agent and grain moisture content are determined. One centimeter (1 cm) thick layer is considered to be a thin layer. This size appears to be very manageable to transfer the regularities of the drying process to a thicker layer when modeling the drying process in a thick layer. The experiment was carried out for three drying modes: classical mode (i.e., drying of grains with natural and heated air), with a constant concentration of air ions in the drying agent, with cyclic (periodic) presence of air ions in the drying agent. Using the regression equations produced a so-called electro-activation criterion can be described. The dependencies obtained would help to optimize the drying process with respect to drying time criterion.

Evaluation of Prehospital and Emergency Department Systolic Blood Pressure as a Predictor of In-Hospital Mortality

Hypotension is a trauma activation criterion validated by multiple studies. However, field systolic blood pressures (SBP) are still met with skepticism. How significant is the role of prehospital (PH) and emergency department (ED) SBP in the patient's overall condition? A review of the trauma registry over a 5-year period was conducted. PH SBPs were stratified into four categories: severe (SBP 80 mmHg or less), moderate (81-100 mmHg), mild hypotension (101-120 mmHg), and normotension (greater than 120 mmHg). These four groups were further subcategorized into the patients who were hypotensive, SBP 90 mmHg or less in the ED, versus those that were not (SBP greater than 90 mmHg). Data for 6964 patients were analyzed. Patients with PH SBP of 80 mmHg or less compared with patients who had PH SBP of greater than 80 mmHg had higher mortality (OR, 9; 95% CI, 6.45-12.84). Patients with both PH SBP 80 mmHg or less and ED SBP 90 mmHg or less had the highest risk of mortality (50%) and highest need for emergent operative intervention (54%). PH and ED hypotension is a strong predictor of in-hospital mortality and need for emergent surgical intervention in trauma patients. Field or ED blood pressures should serve as a significant marker of the patient's condition.