icu transport

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of emergency plans and first aid procedures on injury control and precise treatment in patients with acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury. Given the challenges in managing acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injuries and the need for efficient emergency plans and first aid procedures, the importance of this study is self-evident. METHODS: A total of 103 patients with acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury were enrolled in our study from January 2017 to December 2022, and these patients were divided into two groups according to the time of admission: 51 cases from January 2017 to December 2019 were in the control group, and 52 cases from January 2020 to December 2022 were in the study group...

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is a severe reaction to antipsychotic medications characterized by fever, muscle rigidity, altered mental status, and autonomic dysfunction. Here, we describe the case of a 58-year-old female who presented with altered mental status two days after open reduction and internal fixation of the hip. A rapid response team was called when the patient appeared agitated with increased respiratory demand. After being intubated and moved to the ICU, she became febrile and rigid. A preliminary diagnosis of metabolic encephalopathy of unknown origin was made...

BACKGROUND: Intrahospital transport of critically ill patients is a common practice in intensive care units (ICUs), where patients' safety is constantly challenged in high-intensity and dynamic environments. While Intrahospital Transport Safety Scale (IHTSS) is widely used internationally to evaluate the intrahospital transport safety, it has not been introduced in China. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the IHTSS scale among critical care nurses in China...

INTRODUCTION: Currently, in intensive care units (ICUs), the in-hospital transport (HIT) of patients is carried out without a unified criterion of personnel necessary for it. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the concordance of the Patient Assessment System for Transport-ICU (PAST-ICU) with the medical criteria (CM) to determine the Human Resources (HR) and identify Adverse Effects (AE). METHODS: Descriptive, cross-sectional and prospective study of the IHT of patients admitted to an area of adult medical-surgical critical patients...

BACKGROUND: Linked datasets for trauma system monitoring should ideally follow patients from the prehospital scene to hospital admission and post-discharge. Having a well-defined cohort when using administrative datasets is essential because they must capture the representative population. Unlike hospital electronic health records (EHR), ambulance patient-care records lack access to sources beyond immediate clinical notes. Relying on a limited set of variables to define a study population might result in missed patient inclusion...

BACKGROUND & AIM: Dysfunction of skeletal muscle satellite cells might impair muscle regeneration and prolong ICU-acquired weakness, a condition associated with disability and delayed death. This study aimed to elucidate the distinct metabolic effects of critical illness and β-OH-butyrate on satellite cells isolated from these patients. METHODS: Satellite cells were extracted from vastus lateralis muscle biopsies of patients with ICU-acquired weakness (n = 10) and control group of healthy volunteers or patients undergoing elective hip replacement surgery (n = 10)...

BACKGROUND: As a rule, newborns do not require special medical care. If unexpected complications occur peripartum or postpartum, support from and transport to specialised neonatal hospitals might be needed. METHODS: In a retrospective study, all transport protocols of a supraregional paediatric‑neonatological maximum care hospital in northwestern Germany from 01.10.2018 through 30.09.2021 were analysed. The particular focus was on transports of newborns (<7 days) and the leading symptoms that led to contact...

The New Dunedin Hospital (NDH) is New Zealand's largest health infrastructure build. Here we describe the use of a simple simulation-based hospital design exercise to inform the appropriate lift car size for critical care intrahospital transfers in the NDH. The intensive care unit (ICU) user group tested a series of entries and exits of simulated complex patient transfers in mocked-up lift cars of three different dimensions. Time taken to enter and exit the lift were recorded, reflecting the relative difficulty of transfer...

OBJECTIVE: Mobile head computed tomography (CT) scanners can reduce transport-related complications in neurointensive care unit (NICU) patients and decrease the burden on NICU staff; however, the initial investment cost and reduced image quality of early mobile scanners have prevented their widespread clinical use. Here, we report our initial experience with a novel 32-row mobile CT scanner for use in NICUs. METHODS: Over a 2-year period, 107 patients received a mobile head CT scan...

BACKGROUND: Extremely premature infants (EPIs) are those less than 32 weeks of gestational age. Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal death and poor prognosis, accounting for 25% of neonatal deaths, with extremely premature births accounting for 50% of all premature deaths. Continuous quality improvement (CQI) improves patient outcomes by changing and optimizing clinical practice including increasing participation of neonatologists in prenatal consultation, maintenance of normal body temperature in preterm infants, early use of pulmonary surfactant, reduction of mechanical ventilation time and intensive breastfeeding to reduce clinically avoidable adverse events...

INTRODUCTION: Organized trauma systems reduce morbidity and mortality after serious injury. Rapid transport to high-level trauma centers is ideal, but not always feasible. Thus, interhospital transfers are an important component of trauma systems. However, transferring a seriously injured patient carries the risk of worsening condition before reaching definitive care. In this study, we evaluated characteristics and outcomes of patients whose hemodynamic status worsened during the transfer process...

BACKGROUND: Heart transplant (HT) in recipients with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) is associated with poor early post-HT outcomes, including primary graft dysfunction (PGD). As complicated heart explants in recipients with LVADs may produce longer ischemic times, innovations in donor heart preservation may yield improved post-HT outcomes. The SherpaPak Cardiac Transport System is an organ preservation technology that maintains donor heart temperatures between 4 °C and 8 °C, which may minimize ischemic and cold-induced graft injuries...

BACKGROUND: Elizabethkingia is emerging as an opportunistic pathogen in humans. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical epidemiology, antimicrobial susceptibility, virulence factors, and genome features of Elizabethkingia spp. METHODS: Clinical data from 71 patients who were diagnosed with Elizabethkingia-induced pneumonia and bacteremia between August 2019 and September 2021 were analyzed. Whole-genome sequencing was performed on seven isolates, and the results were compared with a dataset of 83 available Elizabethkingia genomes...

Bedside ultrasound represents a well-suited diagnostic and monitoring tool for patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) who may be too unstable for transport to other hospital areas for diagnostic tests. The role of ultrasound, however, starts even before ECMO initiation. Every patient considered for ECMO should have a thorough ultrasonographic assessment of cardiac and valvular function, as well as vascular anatomy without delaying ECMO cannulation. The role of pre-ECMO ultrasound is to confirm the indication for ECMO, identify clinical situations for which ECMO is not indicated, rule out contraindications, and inform the choice of ECMO configuration...

INTRODUCTION: Pediatric patients account for 6-10% of emergency medical services (EMS) activations in the United States. Approximately 30% of these children are not transported to an emergency department (ED). Adult data in the literature reports higher hospitalization and complications following non-transport. Few studies discuss epidemiology and characteristics of pediatric non-transport; however, data on outcome is limited. Our primary aim was to determine outcomes of non-transported children within our urban EMS system before and during the COVID-19 pandemic...

BACKGROUND: Transcatheter closure of the patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in premature infants is currently dependent on fluoroscopic guidance and transportation to the catheterization laboratory. AIM: We describe a new echocardiographically guided technique to allow our team to move to the bedside at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the referring center for percutaneous treatment of PDA in premature infants. METHODS: This is a single-center, retrospective, primarily descriptive analysis...

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the epidemiology and outcomes of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Incheon, focusing on regional characteristics using data from a local trauma center. METHODS: From January 2018 to December 2022, 559 patients with severe TBI were studied. We analyzed factors related to demography, prehospitalization, surgery, complications, and clinical outcomes, including intensive care unit stay, ventilator use, hospital stay, mortality, and Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) scores at discharge and after 6 months...

OBJECTIVE: Immediate skin-to-skin contact (SSC) is already standard care for healthy term newborns, but its use for term or preterm newborns requiring admission to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with or without respiratory support is challenging. This study aimed to assess the safety and feasibility of SSC during the transfer of newborn infants, using a new purpose-built mobile shuttle care-station, called "Tandem". MATERIAL AND METHODS: A monocentric prospective observational study was conducted at the tertiary referral center of the Université libre de Bruxelles in Brussels, Belgium after ethical approval by Hopital Erasme's Ethics Committee (ClinicalTrials...

OBJECTIVES: Nonconventional ventilators (NCVs), defined here as transport ventilators and certain noninvasive positive pressure devices, were used extensively as crisis-time ventilators for intubated patients with COVID-19. We assessed whether there was an association between the use of NCV and higher mortality, independent of other factors. DESIGN: This is a multicenter retrospective observational study. SETTING: The sample was recruited from a single healthcare system in New York...

BACKGROUND: Mothers of infants in most Sri Lankan neonatal units are required to be "inpatients" during the entirety of their infant's stay. This traditional practice is closely aligned to the relatively newer model of family-integrated care. PURPOSE: Exploration of parent's views regarding the expectation for mothers to remain in hospital for the entire duration of their infant's neonatal unit stay. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of parents of infants admitted to the University neonatal unit of Colombo North Teaching Hospital, Ragama, Sri Lanka, using self-administered questionnaires in 2017...