Impact of a Hurricane Shelter Viral Gastroenteritis Outbreak on a Responding Medical Team.

UNLABELLED: Introduction In late October of 2012, Hurricane Sandy struck the northeast United States and shelters were established throughout the impacted region. Numerous cases of infectious viral gastroenteritis occurred in several of these shelters. Such outbreaks are common and have been well described in the past. Early monitoring for, and recognition of, the outbreak allowed for implementation of aggressive infection control measures. However, these measures required intensive medical response team involvement. Little is known about how such outbreaks affect the medical teams responding to the incident. Hypothesis/Problem Describe the impact of an infectious viral gastroenteritis outbreak within a single shelter on a responding medical team. METHODS: The number of individuals staying in the single shelter each night (as determined by shelter staff) and the number of patients treated for symptoms of viral gastroenteritis were recorded each day. On return from deployment, members of a single responding medical team were surveyed to determine how many team members became ill during, or immediately following, their deployment. RESULTS: The shelter population peaked on November 5, 2012 with 811 individuals sleeping in the shelter. The first patients presented to the shelter clinic with symptoms of viral gastroenteritis on November 4, 2012, and the last case was seen on November 21, 2012. A total of 64 patients were treated for nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea over the 17-day period. A post-deployment survey was sent to 66 deployed medical team members and 45 completed the survey. Twelve (26.7%) of the team members who responded to the survey experienced symptoms of probable viral gastroenteritis. Team members reported onset of symptoms during deployment as well as after returning home. Symptoms started on days 4-8, 8-14, on the trip home, and after returning home in four, four, two, and two team members, respectively. CONCLUSION: Medical teams providing shelter care during viral gastroenteritis outbreaks are susceptible to contracting the virus while caring for patients. When responding to similar incidents in the future, teams should not only be ready to implement aggressive infectious control measures but also be prepared to care for team members who become ill.

Measuring and improving cardiopulmonary resuscitation quality inside the emergency department.

AIM OF STUDY: To evaluate CPR quality during cardiac resuscitation attempts in an urban emergency department (ED) and determine the influence of the combination of scenario-based training, real-time audiovisual feedback (RTAVF), and post-event debriefing on CPR quality. METHODS: CPR quality was recorded using an R Series monitor-defibrillator (ZOLL Medical) during the treatment of adult cardiac arrest patients. Phase 1 (P1; 11/01/2010-11/15/2012) was an observation period of CPR quality. Phase 2 (P2; 11/15/2012-11/08/2013) was after a 60-min psychomotor skills CPR training and included RTAVF and post-event debriefing. RESULTS: A total of 52 cardiac arrest patients were treated in P1 (median age 56 yrs, 63.5% male) and 49 in P2 (age 60 yrs, 83.7% male). Chest compression (CC) depth increased from 46.7 ± 3.8mm in P1 to 61.6 ± 2.8mm in P2 (p < 0.001), with the percentage of CC ≥ 51 mm increasing from 30.6% in P1 to 87.4% in P2 (p < 0.001). CC release velocity increased from 314 ± 25 mm/s in P1 to 442 ± 20 mm/s in P2 (p < 0.001). No significant differences were identified in CC fraction (84.3% P1 vs. 88.4% P2, p = 0.1), CC rate (125 ± 3 cpm P1 vs. 125 ± 3 cpm P2, p = 0.7), or pre-shock pause (9.7s P1 vs. 5.9s P2, p = 0.5), though CC fraction and pre-shock pause were within guideline recommendations. CONCLUSION: Implementation of the bundle of scenario-based training, real-time audiovisual CPR feedback, and post-event debriefing was associated with improved CPR quality and compliance with CPR guidelines in this urban teaching emergency department.