A Quality Improvement Initiative to Increase Confirmation of Prehospital Endotracheal Tube Placement at Emergency Department Transfer of Care.

OBJECTIVES: Rates of prehospital unplanned extubation (UE) range from 0 to 25% and are the result of many factors, including patient movement. Transfer of care of intubated patients to the emergency department (ED) involves significant patient movement and represents a high-risk event for UE. Frequent confirmation of endotracheal tube (ETT) placement is imperative for early recognition of UE and to minimize patient harm. METHODS: Local Practice-Our baseline rate of verbal ETT position confirmation with a member of the ED team during ED transfer of care was 74%. Our goal was to increase this practice to >90% in six months. This project was completed in partnership with Toronto Paramedic Services. Prehospital electronic patient care records (ePCRs) were reviewed weekly to determine the proportion of intubated patients who had ETT placement confirmed in the ED at transfer of care. Interventions-Pre- and post-project paramedic focus groups were conducted to identify potential drivers, change ideas, and project feedback. Three staggered interventions were introduced over five months: (1) memorandums to paramedics, ED chiefs and respiratory therapy leads, (2) individualized paramedic feedback e-mails, and (3) ePCR changes and closing rules. RESULTS: The pre-project focus group identified several potential drivers, such as physical barriers, interprofessional relationships, and communication. ETT confirmation remained ≥90% for the last eight weeks and interventions resulted in special cause variation. Median cases without verbal confirmation between paramedics and ED staff reduced from 5/week (IQR 2.5, 6.5) to 1/week (IQR 0, 2). UE was identified in 0.6% (2/340) of patients with ETT confirmation. The post-project focus group noted improvements in perceived accountability, interprofessional relationships, and satisfaction with interventions. CONCLUSION: Through a series of interventions, we improved the rate of ETT confirmation during ED transfer of care. Although rates of UE were low, improvement in ETT confirmation may lead to faster recognition of UE when it does occur thereby mitigating complications. The observed improvement was sustained after interventions ended.

Predefibrillation end-tidal CO2 and defibrillation success in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: an observational cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Predefibrillation end-tidal CO2 (ETCO2) may predict defibrillation success and could guide defibrillation timing in ventricular fibrillation (VF) cardiac arrest. This relationship has only been studied using advanced airways. Our aim was to evaluate this relationship using both basic (bag-valve-mask (BVM)) and advanced airways (supraglottic airways and endotracheal tubes). METHODS: Prehospital patient records and defibrillator files were abstracted for patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Ontario, Canada, with initial VF cardiac rhythms between 1 January 2018, and 31 December 2019. Analyses assessed the relationship between each predefibrillation ETCO2 reading and defibrillation outcomes at the subsequent 2 min pulse check (ie, VF, asystole, pulseless electrical activity (PEA) or return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC)), accounting for airway types used during resuscitation. Multivariable logistic regression evaluated the association between the first documented predefibrillation ETCO2 and postshock VF termination or ROSC. RESULTS: Of 269 cases abstracted, 153 had predefibrillation ETCO2 measurements and were included in the study. Among these cases, 904 shocks were delivered and 44.4% (n=401) had predefibrillation ETCO2 measured. The first ETCO2 reading was more often from BVM (n=134) than advanced airways (n=19). ETCO2 readings were lower when measured through BVM versus advanced airways (30.5 mm Hg (4.06 kPa) (±14.4 mm Hg (1.92 kPa)) vs 42.1 mm Hg (5.61 kPa) (±22.5 mm Hg (3.00 kPa)), adjANOVA p<0.01). Of all shocks with ETCO2 reading (n=401), no difference in preshock ETCO2 was found for subsequent shocks that resulted in persistent VF (32.2 mm Hg (4.29 kPa) (±15.8 mm Hg (2.11 kPa))), PEA (32.8 mm Hg (4.37 kPa) (±17.1 mm Hg (2.30 kPa))), asystole (32.4 mm Hg (4.32 kPa) (±20.6 mm Hg (2.75 kPa))) or ROSC (32.5 mm Hg (4.33 kPa) (±15.3 mm Hg (2.04 kPa))), analysis of variance p=0.99. In the multivariate analysis using the initial predefibrillation ETCO2, there was no association with VF termination on the subsequent shock (adjusted OR (adjOR) 0.99, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.02, p=0.57) or ROSC (adjOR 1.00, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.03, p=0.94) when evaluated as a continuous or categorical variable. CONCLUSION: Predefibrillation ETCO2 measurement is not associated with VF termination or ROSC when basic and advanced airways are included in the analysis. The role of predefibrillation ETCO2 requires careful consideration of the type of airway used during resuscitation.

Medical Students Learn Professionalism in Near-Peer Led, Discussion-Based Small Groups.

Problem: Medical educators recognize that professionalism is difficult to teach to students in lecture-based or faculty-led settings. An underused but potentially valuable alternative is to enroll near-peers to teach professionalism. Intervention: We describe a novel near-peer curriculum on professionalism developed at Queen's University School of Medicine. Senior medical students considered role models by their classmates were nominated to facilitate small-group seminars with junior students on topics in professionalism. Each session was preceded by brief pre-readings or prompts and engaged students in semistructured, open-ended discussion. Three 2-hour sessions have occurred annually. Context: The near-peer sessions are a required component (6 hours; 20%) of the 1st-year professionalism course at Queen's University (30 hours), which otherwise includes faculty-led seminars, lectures, and online modules. Senior facilitators are selected through a peer nomination process during their 3rd year of medical school. This format was chosen to create a highly regarded position to which students could aspire by demonstrating positive professionalism. Outcome: We performed a qualitative descriptive evaluation of the near-peer curriculum. Fifty-six medical students participated in 11 focus group interviews, which were coded and analyzed for themes inductively and deductively. Quantitative reviews of student feedback forms and a third-party thematic analysis were performed to triangulate results. Medical students preferred the near-peer-led discussion-based curriculum to faculty-led seminars and didactic or online formats. Junior students could describe specific examples of how the curriculum had influenced their behavior in academic, clinical, and personal settings. They cited senior near-peer facilitators as the strongest aspect of the curriculum for their social and cognitive congruence. Senior students who had facilitated sessions regarded the peer teaching experience as formative to their own understanding of professionalism. Lessons Learned: Formal medical curricula on professionalism should emphasize near-peer-led small-group discussion as it fosters a nuanced understanding of professionalism for both early level students and senior students acting as teachers.

Evaluation of a primary care paramedic STEMI bypass guideline.

OBJECTIVE: Limited evidence supports primary care paramedic (PCP) direct transport of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The goal of this study was to evaluate an urban-based PCP STEMI bypass guideline. METHODS: We reviewed consecutive Toronto Paramedic Services call reports between April 7, 2015, and May 31, 2016, regarding STEMI patients identified by PCPs. The primary outcome was patient assignment (stable versus unstable) according to guideline criteria. Secondary outcomes were the proportion of PCP-transported patients who had an indication for an advanced care intervention (ACI) or who received an ACI when PCPs rendezvoused with an advanced care paramedic (ACP). Lastly, we reviewed prehospital outcomes of cardiac arrest patients and calculated the difference in transport intervals between direct PCP bypass and a PCI-centre and predicted transport interval to the closest emergency department (ED). RESULTS: Of 361 patients, 232 were PCP transports and 129 were ACP-rendezvous transports. There was a significant difference in the distribution of stable and unstable patients between PCPs and ACPs (p<0.001). For PCP patients, 21/232 (9.1%) had indications for an ACI, whereas 34/129 (26.4%) ACP patients received an ACI. Eleven patients experienced cardiac arrest; 10 were successfully resuscitated (5 of these by PCPs). The median difference between direct PCP bypass and a PCI-centre versus transport to the closest ED was 5.53 minutes (IQR=6.71). CONCLUSIONS: We found a significant difference in the distribution of stable and unstable patients and fewer patients with indications for an ACI in PCP patients. This PCP STEMI bypass guideline appears feasible.

Derivation of some contemporary scales to measure adolescent risk-taking in Canada.

OBJECTIVES: To derive a contemporary series of composite indicators of adolescent risk-taking, inspired by the US CDC Framework and Problem Behaviour Theory. METHODS: Factor analyses were performed on 28-risk behaviours in a nationally representative sample of 30,096 Grades 6-10 students from the 2014 Canadian Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study. RESULTS: Three composite indicators emerged from our analysis: (1) Overt Risk-Taking (i.e., substance use, caffeinated energy drink consumption, fighting, and risky sexual behaviour), (2) Aversion to a Healthy Lifestyle (i.e., physical inactivity and low fruit and vegetable consumption), and (3) Screen Time Syndrome (i.e., abnormally high screen time use combined with unhealthy snacking). These three composite indicators of risk-taking were observed consistently with strong psychometric properties across different grade groups (6-8, 9-10). CONCLUSIONS: The three composite indicators of adolescent risk-taking each draw from multiple domains within the CDC framework, and support a novel, empirically directed approach of conceptualizing multiple risk behaviours among adolescents. The measures also highlight the breadth and diversity of risk behaviour engagement among Canadian adolescents. Research and preventive interventions should simultaneously consider the related behaviours within each of these composite indicators.