Trauma sévère: Un docteur sur scène. Et bien pas évident ?

Does the presence of an emergency physician influence pre-hospital time, pre-hospital interventions and the mortality of severely injured patients? A matched-pair analysis based on the trauma registry of the German Trauma Society (TraumaRegister DGU^®)

Bieler D. et Al. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.injury.2016.08.015

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Une remise en question un peu étonnante de la médicalisation préhospitalière par nos camarades allemands. L'augmentation globale de la qualité des intervenants et de l'organisation explique probablement les résultats de cette analyse.

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Purpose

The role of emergency physicians in the pre-hospital management of severely injured patients remains controversial. In Germany and Austria, an emergency physician is present at the scene of an emergency situation or is called to such a scene in order to provide pre-hospital care to severely injured patients in approximately 95% of all cases. By contrast, in the United States and the United Kingdom, paramedics, i.e. non-physician teams, usually provide care to an injured person both at the scene of an incident and en route to an appropriate hospital. We investigated whether physician or non-physician care offers more benefits and what type of on-site care improves outcome.

Material and methods

In a matched-pair analysis using data from the trauma registry of the German Trauma Society, we retrospectively (2002–2011) analysed the pre-hospital management of severely injured patients (ISS ≥16) by physician and non-physician teams. Matching criteria were age, overall injury severity, the presence of relevant injuries to the head, chest, abdomen or extremities, the cause of trauma, the level of consciousness, and the presence of shock.

Results

Each of the two groups, i.e. patients who were attended by an emergency physician and those who received non-physician care, consisted of 1235 subjects.

There was no significant difference between the two groups in pre-hospital time (61.1 [SD 28.9] minutes for the physician group and 61.9 [SD 30.9] minutes for non-physician group).

Significant differences were found in the number of pre-hospital procedures such as fluid administration, analgosedation and intubation. There was a highly significant difference (p < 0.001) in the number of patients who received no intervention at all applying to 348 patients (28.2%) treated by non-physician teams and to only 31 patients (2.5%) in the physician-treated group.

By contrast, there was no significant difference in mortality within the first 24 h and in mortality during hospitalisation.

Conclusion

This retrospective analysis does not allow definitive conclusions to be drawn about the optimal model of pre-hospital care. It shows, however, that there was no significant difference in mortality although patients who were attended by non-physician teams received fewer pre-hospital interventions with similar scene times

Chaud et froid: Nous aussi !

Critical care at extremes of temperature: effects on patients, staff and equipment

Hindle EM, et al. J R Army Med Corps 2014;160:279–285

 

Le chaud et le froid ont aussi des effets sur notre performance, et il faut en tenir compte.

 

Modern travel and military operations have led to a significant increase in the need to provide medical care in extreme climates. Presently, there are few data on what happens to the doctor, their drugs and equipment when exposed to these extremes. A review was undertaken to find out the effects of ‘extreme heat or cold’ on anaesthesia and critical care; in addition, subject matter experts were contacted directly. Both extreme heat and extreme cold can cause a marked physiological response in a critically ill patient and the doctor treating these patients may also suffer a decrement in both physical and mental functioning. Equipment can malfunction when exposed to extremes of temperature and should ideally be stored and operated in a climatically controlled environment. Many drugs have a narrow range of temperatures in which they remain useable though some have been shown to remain effective if exposed to extremes of temperature for a short period of time. All personnel embarking on an expedition to an extreme temperature zone should be of sufficient physical robustness and ideally should have a period of acclimatisation which may help mitigate against some of the physiological effects of exposure to extreme heat or extreme cold. Expedition planners should aim to provide climatic control for drugs and equipment and should have logistical plans for replenishment of drugs and medical evacuation of casualties.

Remote damage control resuscitation: ???

THOR Position Paper on Remote Damage Control Resuscitation: Definitions, Current Practice and Knowledge Gaps

Jenkins DH et Al. Shock. 2014 May; 41(0 1): 3–12.

 

The concept of RDCR is in its infancy and there is a significant amount of work that needs to be done to improve outcomes for patients with life-threatening bleeding secondary to injury. The pre-hospital phase of their resuscitation is critical and if shock and coagulopathy can be rapidly identified and corrected prior to hospital admission this will likely reduce morbidity and mortality. The THOR Network is committed to improving outcomes for patients with traumatic injury through education, training and research. This position statement begins to standardize the terms used, provides an acceptable range of therapeutic options, and identifies the major knowledge gaps in the field.