Reliability of prehospital patient classification in helicopter emergency medical service missions.

BACKGROUND: Several scores and codes are used in prehospital clinical quality registries but little is known of their reliability. The aim of this study is to evaluate the inter-rater reliability of the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (ASA-PS) classification system, HEMS benefit score (HBS), International Classification of Primary Care, second edition (ICPC-2) and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status in a helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) clinical quality registry (CQR). METHODS: All physicians and paramedics working in HEMS in Finland and responsible for patient registration were asked to participate in this study. The participants entered data of six written fictional missions in the national CQR. The inter-rater reliability of the ASA-PS, HBS, ICPC-2 and ECOG were evaluated using an overall agreement and free-marginal multi-rater kappa (Κfree). RESULTS: All 59 Finnish HEMS physicians and paramedics were invited to participate in this study, of which 43 responded and 16 did not answer. One participant was excluded due to unfinished data entering. ASA-PS had an overall agreement of 40.2% and Κfree of 0.28 in this study. HBS had an overall agreement of 44.7% and Κfree of 0.39. ICPC-2 coding had an overall agreement of 51.5% and Κfree of 0.47. ECOG had an overall agreement of 49.6% and Κfree of 0.40. CONCLUSION: This study suggests a marked inter-rater unreliability in prehospital patient scoring and coding even in a relatively uniform group of practitioners working in a highly focused environment. This indicates that the scores and codes should be specifically designed or adapted for prehospital use, and the users should be provided with clear and thorough instructions on how to use them.

The reliability and accuracy of operational system data in a nationwide helicopter emergency medical services mission database.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and accuracy of documentation in FinnHEMS database, which is a nationwide helicopter emergency service (HEMS) clinical quality registry. METHODS: This is a nationwide study based on written fictional clinical scenarios. Study subjects were HEMS physicians and paramedics, who filled in the clinical quality registry based on the clinical scenarios. The inter-rater -reliability of the collected data was analyzed with percent agreement and free-marginal multi-rater kappa. RESULTS: Dispatch coding had a percent agreement of 91% and free-marginal multi-rater kappa value of 0.83. Coding for transportation or mission cancellation resulted in an agreement of 84% and free-marginal kappa value of 0.68. An agreement of 82% and a kappa value of 0.73 for dispatcher coding was found. Mission end, arrival at hospital and HEMS unit dispatch -times had agreements from 80 to 85% and kappa values from 0.61 to 0.73. The emergency call to dispatch centre time had an agreement of 71% and kappa value of 0.56. The documentation of pain had an agreement of 73% on both the first and second measurements. All other vital parameters had less than 70% agreement and 0.40 kappa value in the first measurement. The documentation of secondary vital parameter measurements resulted in agreements from 72 to 91% and kappa values from 0.43 to 0.64. CONCLUSION: Data from HEMS operations can be gathered reliably in a national clinical quality registry. This study revealed some inaccuracies in data registration and data quality, which are important to detect to improve the overall reliability and validity of the HEMS clinical quality register.

Has the income of the residential area impact on the use of intensive care?

BACKGROUND: The socioeconomic factors have an impact on case mix and outcome in critical illness, but how these factors affect the use of intensive care is not studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions in patients from residential areas with different annual incomes. METHODS: Single-center, retrospective study in Northern Finland. All the non-trauma-related emergency admissions from the hospital district area were included. The postal codes were used to categorize the residential areas according to each area's annual median income: the low-income area, €18,979 to €28,841 per year; the middle-income area, €28,879 to €33,856 per year; and the high-income area, €34,221 to €53,864 per year. RESULTS: A total of 735 non-trauma-related admissions were included. The unemployment or retirement, psychiatric comorbidities and chronic alcohol abuse were common in this population. The highest incidence, 5.5 (4.6-6.7)/1000/year, was in population aged more than 65 years living in high-income areas. In working-aged population, the incidence was lowest in high-income areas (1.5 (1.3-1.8/1000/year) compared to middle-income areas (2.2 (1.9-2.6)/1000/year, P = 0.001) and low-income areas (2.0 (1.7-2.4)/1000/, P = 0.009). Poisonings were more common in low-income areas. There were no differences in outcome. CONCLUSION: The incidence of ICU admission in working-aged population was 25% higher in those areas where the annual median income was below the median annual income of €38,775 per inhabitant per year in Finland.

Evaluating helicopter emergency medical missions: a reliability study of the HEMS benefit and NACA scores.

BACKGROUND: The benefits of the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) and dispatch accuracy are continuously debated, and a widely accepted score to measure the benefits of the mission is lacking. The HEMS Benefit Score (HBS) has been used in Finnish helicopter emergency medical services, but studies are lacking. The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) score is widely used to measure the severity of illness or injury in the pre-hospital setting, but it has many critics due to its subjectivity. We investigated the inter-rater and rater-against-reference reliability of these scores. METHODS: Twenty-five fictional HEMS missions were created by an expert panel. A total of 22 pre-hospital physicians were recruited to participate in the study from two different HEMS bases. The participants received written instructions on the use of the scores. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and mean differences between rater-against-reference values were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 17 physicians participated in the study. The ICC was 0.70 (95% CI 0.57-0.83) for the HBS and 0.65 (95% CI 0.51-0.79) for the NACA score. Mean differences between references and raters were -0.09 (SD 0.72) for the HBS and 0.28 (SD 0.61) for the NACA score, indicating that raters scored some lower NACA values than reference values formed by an expert panel. CONCLUSION: The HBS and NACA score had substantial inter-rater reliability. In addition, the rater-against-reference values were acceptable, though large differences were observed between individual raters and references in some clinical cases.

Fatal injuries in rural and urban areas in northern Finland: a 5-year retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Finland has the fourth highest injury mortality rate in the European Union. To better understand the causes of the high injury rate, and prevent these fatal injuries, studies are needed. Therefore, we set out to complete an analysis of the epidemiology of fatal trauma, and any contributory role for alcohol, long suspected to promote fatal injuries. As a study area, we chose the four northernmost counties of Finland; their mix of remote rural areas and urban centres allowed us to correlate mortality rates with 'rurality'. METHODS: The Causes of Death Register was consulted to identify deaths from external causes over a 5-year time period. Data were retrieved from death certificates, autopsy reports and medical records. The municipalities studied were classified as either rural or urban. RESULTS: Of 2915 deaths categorized as occurring from external causes during our study period, 1959 were eligible for inclusion in our study. The annual crude mortality rate was 54 per 100,000 inhabitants; this rate was higher in rural vs. urban municipalities (65 vs. 45 per 100,000 inhabitants/year). Additionally, a greater number of pre-hospital deaths from accidental high-energy trauma occurred in rural areas (78 vs. 69%). 42% of all pre-hospital deaths occurred under the influence of alcohol. CONCLUSION: The crude mortality rate for fatal injuries was high overall as compared to other studies, and elevated in rural areas, where pre-hospital deaths were more common. Almost half of pre-hospital deaths occurred under the influence of alcohol.

Do pre-hospital anaesthesiologists reliably predict mortality using the NACA severity score? A retrospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: The National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics' (NACA) severity score is widely used in pre-hospital emergency medicine to grade the severity of illness or trauma in patient groups but is scarcely validated. The aim of this study was to assess the score's ability to predict mortality and need for advanced in-hospital interventions in a cohort from one anaesthesiologist-manned helicopter service in Northern Norway. METHODS: All missions completed by one helicopter service during January 1999 to December 2009 were reviewed. One thousand eight hundred forty-one patients were assessed by the NACA score. Pre-hospital and in-hospital interventions were collected from patient records. The relationship between NACA score and the outcome measures was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. RESULTS: A total of 1533 patients were included in the analysis; uninjured and dead victims were excluded per protocol. Overall mortality rate of the patients with NACA score 1-6 was 5.2%. Trauma patients with NACA score 1-6 had overall mortality rate of 1.9% (12/625) and non-trauma patients 7.4% (67/908). The NACA score's ability to predict mortality was assessed by using ROC area under curve (AUC) and was 0.86 for all, 0.82 for non-trauma and 0.98 for trauma patients. The NACA score's ability to predict a need for respiratory therapy within 24 h revealed an AUC of 0.90 for all patients combined. CONCLUSION: The NACA score had good discrimination for predicting mortality and need for respiratory therapy. It is thus useful as a tool to measure overall severity of the patient population in this kind of emergency medicine system.

Pre-hospital airway management by non-physicians in Northern Finland -- a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Airway management is an important skill in pre-hospital emergency medicine. The most optimal method depends on the resources and experience of the emergency medical service (EMS) providers. We wanted to study the frequency of occurrence, equipment used, problems experienced and maintenance of skills in pre-hospital airway management by non-physicians. METHODS: A structured questionnaire consisting of 30 questions was distributed to 383 EMS providers in three hospital districts (population 597,521 and area 147,467 km(2) ) in Northern Finland. RESULTS: The questionnaire was answered by 226 EMS providers and 58.5% (224/383) were included in the final analyses. In all, 82.6% (185/224) of the EMS providers were allowed to perform endotracheal intubation (ETI) and 44.2% (99/224) could perform ETI using sedative agents. The annual mean frequency of using a supraglottic airway device (SAD) was 1.0 (range 0-20, n = 224), for ETI it was 2.0 (range 0-16, n = 185) and for bag-valve-mask ventilation it was 4.3 (range 0-30, n = 223). The mean frequency of drug-assisted ETI was 1.1 (range 0-13, n = 99). Unsuccessful ETI had been experienced by 65.7% (119/181) of the EMS providers. Airway management had been practised in an operating room by 25.9% (56/216) and with a manikin by 81.3% (182/224) of the EMS providers during the past 12 months. CONCLUSION: Advanced airway management procedures are uncommon for most EMS providers in Northern Finland. Procedures, training in and maintenance of airway management skills should be re-evaluated.