Use of high-fidelity simulation technology in disasters: an integrative literature review.

New innovative high-fidelity simulation (HFS) technologies, including augmented reality and virtual reality, have begun being used for disaster response and preparedness. However, few studies have assessed the merit of these technologies in disaster simulation. This integrative literature review of 21 studies assesses the role of HFS technology in disaster. Most studies used a quantitative methodology (71.4%), followed by mixed (19%) or qualitative methods (9.6%). Nearly 60% covered only disaster preparedness phase, whereas 10% addressed disasters in middle-income countries without including low-income nations. The four most frequently mentioned technologies were immersive virtual reality simulation, computerized virtual reality simulation, full-scale simulation, and augmented reality wearable smart glasses simulation. Nearly 50% of the studies used technology for purposes other than disaster simulation education, including telemedicine (14.3%), risk planning (14.3%), high-risk map generation for preparedness purposes (9.5%), or rehabilitation medicine (4.8%). HFS technologies must be further evaluated outside of high-income countries and in different disaster phases to better understand their full potential in disaster simulation. Future research should consider different health professions and more robust protocols to assist disaster response professionals and agencies in the adoption of HFS technologies.

Public access defibrillation and outcomes after pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

BACKGROUND: Use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) has been recommended for pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). However, there are no conclusive studies that elucidated the effectiveness of public-access defibrillation (PAD) in children. METHODS: This was a nationwide, population-based, propensity score-matched study of pediatric OHCA in Japan from 2011 to 2012, based on data from the All-Japan Utstein Registry. We included pediatric OHCA patients (aged 1-17 years) who received bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The primary outcome was a favorable neurological state 1 month after OHCA (defined as a CPC score of 1-2). RESULTS: A total of 1193 patients were included in the final cohort; 57 received PAD and 1136 did not. Among 1193 patients, 188 (15.8%) survived with a favorable neurological status 1 month after OHCA. The odds of neurologically favorable survival were significantly higher for patients receiving PAD after adjusting for potential confounders: propensity score matching, OR 3.17 (95% CI 1.40-7.17), and multivariable logistic regression modeling, ORadjusted 5.10 (95% CI 2.01-13.70). Similar findings were observed for the secondary outcomes (i.e., neurologically favorable survival with a CPC score of 1, one-month survival, and prehospital return of spontaneous circulation). In subgroup analyses, there were no significant differences in neurologically favorable survival between the PAD group and non-PAD group in the unwitnessed cohort (ORadjusted 7.76 [0.75-81.90]) or the non-cardiac etiology cohort (ORadjusted 6.65 [0.64-66.24]). CONCLUSIONS: PAD was associated with an increased chance of neurologically favorable survival in pediatric OHCA (aged 1-17 years) who received bystander CPR, except for in cases of unwitnessed or non-cardiac etiology.

Conventional Versus Compression-Only Versus No-Bystander Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation for Pediatric Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest.

BACKGROUND: Conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) (chest compression and rescue breathing) has been recommended for pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) because of the asphyxial nature of the majority of pediatric cardiac arrest events. However, the clinical effectiveness of additional rescue breathing (conventional CPR) compared with compression-only CPR in children is uncertain. METHODS: This nationwide population-based study of pediatric OHCA patients was based on data from the All-Japan Utstein Registry. We included all pediatric patients who experienced OHCA in Japan from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2012. The primary outcome was a favorable neurological state 1 month after OHCA defined as a Glasgow-Pittsburgh Cerebral Performance Category score of 1 to 2 (corresponding to a Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category score of 1-3). Outcomes were compared with logistic regression with uni- and multivariable modeling in the overall cohort and for a propensity-matched subset of patients. RESULTS: A total of 2157 patients were included; 417 received conventional CPR, 733 received compression-only CPR, and 1007 did not receive any bystander CPR. Among these patients, 213 (9.9%) survived with a favorable neurological status 1 month after OHCA, including 108/417 (25.9%) for conventional, 68/733 (9.3%) for compression-only, and 37/1007 (3.7%) for no-bystander CPR. In unadjusted analyses, conventional CPR was superior to compression-only CPR in neurologically favorable survival (odds ratio [OR] 3.42, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.45-4.76; P<0.0001), with a trend favoring conventional CPR that was no longer statistically significant after multivariable adjustment (ORadjusted 1.52, 95% CI 0.93-2.49), and with further attenuation of the difference in a propensity-matched subset (OR 1.20, 95% CI 0.81-1.77). Both conventional and compression-only CPR were associated with higher odds for neurologically favorable survival compared with no-bystander CPR (ORadjusted 5.01, 95% CI 2.98-8.57, and ORadjusted 3.29, 95% CI 1.93-5.71), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In this population-based study of pediatric OHCA in Japan, both conventional and compression-only CPR were associated with superior outcomes compared with no-bystander CPR. Unadjusted outcomes with conventional CPR were superior to compression-only CPR, with the magnitude of difference attenuated and no longer statistically significant after statistical adjustments. These findings support randomized clinical trials comparing conventional versus compression-only CPR in children, with conventional CPR preferred until such controlled comparative data are available, and either method preferred over no-bystander CPR.

Embedded-structure template for electronic records affects patient note quality and management for emergency head injury patients: An observational pre and post comparison quality improvement study.

Along with article-based checklists, structured template recording systems have been reported as useful to create more accurate clinical recording, but their contributions to the improvement of the quality of patient care have been controversial. An emergency department (ED) must manage many patients in a short time. Therefore, such a template might be especially useful, but few ED-based studies have examined such systems.A structured template produced according to widely used head injury guidelines was used by ED residents for head injury patients. The study was conducted by comparing each 6-month period before and after launching the system. The quality of the patient notes and factors recorded in the patient notes to support the head computed tomography (CT) performance were evaluated by medical students blinded to patient information.The subject patients were 188 and 177 in respective periods. The numbers of patient notes categorized as "CT indication cannot be determined" were significantly lower in the postintervention term (18% → 9.0%), which represents the patient note quality improvement. No difference was found in the rates of CT performance or CT skip without clearly recorded CT indication in the patient notes.The structured template functioned as a checklist to support residents in writing more appropriately recorded patient notes in the ED head injury patients. Such a template customized to each clinical condition can facilitate standardized patient management and can improve patient safety in the ED.

Effect of prehospital epinephrine on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a report from the national out-of-hospital cardiac arrest data registry in Japan, 2011-2012.

PURPOSE: The effect of prehospital epinephrine on neurological outcome in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is still controversial. We sought to determine whether prehospital epinephrine administration was associated with improved outcomes in adult OHCA. METHODS: A nationwide, population-based, propensity score-matched study of OHCA patients from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2012, in Japan was conducted. We included adult OHCA patients treated by emergency medical service personnel without an excessive delay. The primary outcome was neurologically favorable survival 1 month after OHCA. RESULTS: A total of 237,068 patients (16,616 with a shockable rhythm and 220,452 with a non-shockable rhythm) were included in the final cohort. A total of 4024 out of the 16,616 shockable OHCAs and 29,393 out of the 220,452 non-shockable OHCAs received prehospital epinephrine. In the propensity score-matched cohort, prehospital epinephrine was associated with a decreased chance of neurologically favorable survival (shockable OHCA 7.6 vs. 17.9 %, OR 0.38 [95%CI 0.33-0.43]; non-shockable OHCA 0.6 vs. 1.2 %, OR 0.47 [95%CI 0.39-0.56]). In the subgroup analyses, prehospital epinephrine was significantly associated with poor neurological outcome in all subgroups. In the ancillary analyses, although the neurological outcome was worse as the number of epinephrine doses increased or the time to epinephrine increased, patients had a greater chance of a favorable neurological outcome only when a single dose of epinephrine was administered within 15 min of the emergency call in shockable OHCA. CONCLUSIONS: Among adult OHCA patients, prehospital epinephrine was associated with a decreased chance of neurologically favorable survival. Situations in which prehospital epinephrine is effective may be extremely limited.

Quantitative analysis of high plasma lactate concentration in ED patients after alcohol intake.

INTRODUCTION: Plasma lactate concentration is known to increase after alcohol intake. However, this increase has rarely been analyzed quantitatively in emergency department (ED) settings. Evaluating plasma lactate elevation in ED patients after alcohol intake is important because it can affect patients' evaluation based on the plasma lactate level. METHODS: This study analyzed venous lactate concentrations of 196 continuous patients presented to our ED after alcohol intake. The control group comprised 219 successive ED patients without alcohol intake. Patients who had conditions that might induce lactate elevation were excluded from both groups. RESULTS: Venous lactate concentration was significantly higher in the alcohol intake group (2.83 mmol/L; 95% confidence interval, 2.69-2.96 mmol/L) than in the control group (1.65 mmol/L; 95% confidence interval, 1.53-1.77 mmol/L; P<.05). Lactate concentrations exceeding 3 mmol/L and exceeding 4 mmol/L were found, respectively, in 41.8% and 12.2% of the alcohol intake group compared with in 8.7% and 2.3% of the control group (P<.05). Lactate concentrations do not correlate with patients' level of consciousness. Therefore, a higher plasma ethanol level is apparently unrelated to elevated lactate. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Analyses show that plasma lactate concentration is significantly higher in ED patients after alcohol intake and to a greater degree than previously reported, even in patients without previously known alcohol-related diseases. Emergency department physicians must be careful when interpreting the lactate level of the patients with alcohol intake.

Effectiveness of surgical rib fixation on prolonged mechanical ventilation in patients with traumatic rib fractures: A propensity score-matched analysis.

PURPOSE: We investigated whether surgical rib fixation improved outcomes in patients with traumatic rib fractures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study using a Japanese administrative claim and discharge database. We included patients with traumatic rib fractures admitted to hospitals where surgical rib fixation was available from July 1 2010, to March 31, 2013. We detected patients who underwent surgical rib fixation within 10 days of hospital admission (surgical group) and those who did not (control group). The main outcome was prolonged mechanical ventilation, defined as that performed for 5 or more days, or death within 28 days. One-to-four propensity score matching was performed between the 2 groups with adjustment for possible confounders. RESULTS: Among 4577 eligible patients, 90 (2.0%) underwent the surgical rib fixation. After the matching, we obtained 84 and 336 patients in the surgical and control groups, respectively. Logistic regression analyses showed that the surgical group was significantly less likely to receive prolonged mechanical ventilation or die within 28 days than the control group (22.6% vs 33.3%; odds ratio, 0.59; 95% confidence interval, 0.36-0.96; P=.034). CONCLUSIONS: Surgical rib fixation within 10 days of hospital admission may improve outcomes in patients with traumatic rib fractures.

Impact of a New Medical Record System for Emergency Departments Designed to Accelerate Clinical Documentation: A Crossover Study.

Recording information in emergency departments (EDs) constitutes a major obstacle to efficient treatment. A new electronic medical records (EMR) system focusing on clinical documentation was developed to accelerate patient flow. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of a new EMR system on ED length of stay and physician satisfaction.We integrated a new EMR system at a hospital already using a standard system. A crossover design was adopted whereby residents were randomized into 2 groups. Group A used the existing EMR system first, followed by the newly developed system, for 2 weeks each. Group B followed the opposite sequence. The time required to provide overall medical care, length of stay in ED, and degree of physician satisfaction were compared between the 2 EMR systems.The study involved 6 residents and 526 patients (277 assessed using the standard system and 249 assessed with the new system). Mean time for clinical documentation decreased from 133.7 ± 5.1 minutes to 107.5 ± 5.4 minutes with the new EMR system (P < 0.001). The time for overall medical care was significantly reduced in all patient groups except triage level 5 (nonurgent). The new EMR system significantly reduced the length of stay in ED for triage level 2 (emergency) patients (145.4 ± 13.6 minutes vs 184.3 ± 13.6 minutes for standard system; P = 0.047). As for the degree of physician satisfaction, there was a high degree of satisfaction in terms of the physical findings support system and the ability to capture images and enter negative findings.The new EMR system shortened the time for overall medical care and was associated with a high degree of resident satisfaction.

Comparison of intranasal and intravenous diazepam on status epilepticus in stroke patients: a retrospective cohort study.

Administering diazepam intravenously or rectally in an adult with status epilepticus can be difficult and time consuming. The aim of this study was to examine whether intranasal diazepam is an effective alternative to intravenous diazepam when treating status epilepticus. We undertook a retrospective cohort study based on the medical records of 19 stroke patients presenting with status epilepticus to our institution. We measured the time between arrival at the hospital, the intravenous or intranasal administration of diazepam, and the seizure termination. Intranasal diazepam was administered about 9 times faster than intravenous diazepam (1 vs 9.5 minutes, P = 0.001), resulting in about 3-fold reduction in the time to termination of seizure activity after arrival at the hospital (3 minutes compared with 9.5 minutes in the intravenous group, P = 0.030). No adverse effects of intranasal diazepam were evident from the medical records. Intranasal diazepam administration is safer, easier, and quicker than intravenous administration.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) treated successfully by veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in a nearly drowned patient.

This report highlights about one acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) case after near-drowning resuscitated using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Few cases have been reported about ECMO use for near-drowning and in most of these cases, ECMO was initiated within the first week. However, in our report, we would like to emphasize that seemingly irreversible secondary worsening of ARDS after nearly drowned patient was successfully treated by ECMO use more than 1 week after near-drowning followed by discharge without home oxygen therapy, social support, or any complication. This is probably due to sufficient lung rest for ventilator-associated lung injury during ECMO use. Based on our case's clinical course, intensive care unit physicians must consider ECMO even in the late phase of worsened ARDS after near-drowning.

Motivations and barriers to implementing electronic health records and ED information systems in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Although electronic health record systems (EHRs) and emergency department information systems (EDISs) enable safe, efficient, and high-quality care, these systems have not yet been studied well. Here, we assessed (1) the prevalence of EHRs and EDISs, (2) changes in efficiency in emergency medical practices after introducing EHR and EDIS, and (3) barriers to and expectations from the EHR-EDIS transition in EDs of medical facilities with EHRs in Japan. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A survey regarding EHR (basic or comprehensive) and EDIS implementation was mailed to 466 hospitals. We examined the efficiency after EHR implementation and perceived barriers and expectations regarding the use of EDIS with existing EHRs. The survey was completed anonymously. RESULTS: Totally, 215 hospitals completed the survey (response rate, 46.1%), of which, 76.3% had basic EHRs, 4.2% had comprehensive EHRs, and 1.9% had EDISs. After introducing EHRs and EDISs, a reduction in the time required to access previous patient information and share patient information was noted, but no change was observed in the time required to produce medical records and the overall time for each medical care. For hospitals with EHRs, the most commonly cited barriers to EDIS implementation were inadequate funding for adoption and maintenance and potential adverse effects on workflow. The most desired function in the EHR-EDIS transition was establishing appropriate clinical guidelines for residents within their system. CONCLUSION: To attract EDs to EDIS from EHR, systems focusing on decreasing the time required to produce medical records and establishing appropriate clinical guidelines for residents are required.

Application of cerebral oxygen saturation to prediction of the futility of resuscitation for out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest patients: a single-center, prospective, observational study: can cerebral regional oxygen saturation predict the futility of CPR?

BACKGROUND: Cerebral regional oxygen saturation (rSO2) can be measured immediately and noninvasively just after arrival at the hospital and may be useful for evaluating the futility of resuscitation for a patient with out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest (OHCA). We examined the best practices involving cerebral rSO2 as an indicator of the futility of resuscitation. METHODS: This study was a single-center, prospective, observational analysis of a cohort of consecutive adult OHCA patients who were transported to the University of Tokyo Hospital from October 1, 2012, to September 30, 2013, and whose cerebral rSO2 values were measured. RESULTS: During the study period, 69 adult OHCA patients were enrolled. Of the 54 patients with initial lower cerebral rSO2 values of 26% or less, 47 patients failed to achieve return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis (optimal cutoff, 26%; sensitivity, 88.7%; specificity, 56.3%; positive predictive value, 87.0%; negative predictive value, 60.0%; area under the curve [AUC], 0.714; P = .0033). The AUC for the initial lower cerebral rSO2 value was greater than that for blood pH (AUC, 0.620; P = .1687) or lactate values (AUC, 0.627; P = .1081) measured upon arrival at the hospital as well as that for initial higher (AUC, 0.650; P = .1788) or average (AUC, 0.677; P = .0235) cerebral rSO2 values. The adjusted odds ratio of the initial lower cerebral rSO2 values of 26% or less for ROSC was 0.11 (95% confidence interval, 0.01-0.63; P = .0129). CONCLUSIONS: Initial lower cerebral rSO2 just after arrival at the hospital, as a static indicator, is associated with non-ROSC. However, an initially lower cerebral rSO2 alone does not yield a diagnosis performance sufficient for evaluating the futility of resuscitation.

Applicability of the prehospital termination of resuscitation rule in an area dense with hospitals in Tokyo: a single-center, retrospective, observational study: is the pre hospital TOR rule applicable in Tokyo?

BACKGROUND: It is unclear whether the prehospital termination of resuscitation (TOR) rule is applicable in specific situations such as in areas extremely dense with hospitals. OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study is to assess whether the prehospital TOR rule is applicable in the emergency medical services system in Japan, specifically, in an area dense with hospitals in Tokyo. METHODS: This study was a retrospective, observational analysis of a cohort of adult out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest (OHCA) patients who were transported to the University of Tokyo Hospital from April 1, 2009, to March 31, 2011. RESULTS: During the study period, 189 adult OHCA patients were enrolled. Of the 189 patients, 108 patients met the prehospital TOR rule. The outcomes were significantly worse in the prehospital TOR rule-positive group than in the prehospital TOR-negative group, with 0.9% vs 11.1% of patients, respectively, surviving until discharge (relative risk [RR], 1.11; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-1.21; P = .0020) and 0.0% vs 7.4% of patients, respectively, discharged with a favorable neurologic outcome (RR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.02-1.15; P = .0040). The prehospital TOR rule had a positive predictive value (PPV) of 99.1% (95% CI, 96.3-99.8) and a specificity of 90.0% (95% CI, 60.5-98.2) for death and a PPV of 100.0% (95% CI, 97.9-100.0) and a specificity of 100.0% (95% CI, 61.7-100.0) for an unfavorable neurologic outcome. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggested that the prehospital TOR rule predicted unfavorable outcomes even in an area dense with hospitals in Tokyo and might be helpful for identifying the OHCA patients for whom resuscitation efforts would be fruitless.

Cerebral venous thrombosis and "Dense Triangle Sign" on unenhanced head computed tomographic scan.

This case report describes a 21-year-old man with headache who was ultimately diagnosed as having cerebral venous thrombosis(CVT), a rare cause of headache in the emergency department that is sometimes lethal. However, correct diagnosis of CVT is often quite difficult because of a lack of findings in imaging studies. Unenhanced head computed tomography was completely normal in up to 39% of patients diagnosed as having CVT, but a subtle sign known as 'Dense Triangle Sign' was found in this case. This finding disappeared after anticoagulation therapy. Emergency physicians must know about this finding to diagnose this rare condition correctly.

Adult-onset seizures in a patient with Down syndrome and portosystemic shunt.

OBJECTIVE: The prevalence of epilepsy in patients with Down syndrome (DS) is 5-13%, which is higher than the prevalence in the general population. Transient hyperammonemia is often observed following seizure, but it typically resolves within a day. Here, we describe the case a 37-year-old woman who had DS and a history of adult-onset epilepsy and was admitted to our hospital with recurrent seizures. After admission, her ammonia levels fluctuated without any apparent cause, and dynamic computed tomography revealed a portosystemic shunt. The findings suggest that her seizures possibly precipitated from hyperammonemia secondary to a portosystemic shunt, and we reviewed the relevant literature. METHODS: We conducted PubMed, Web of Science, and EMBASE searches without language restrictions for articles published between 1970 and February 2013. RESULTS: In addition to the present case, 7 cases were ultimately included in this review. Four patients were newborns, 2 patients were 1 month old, and 1 patient was 3 years old. No adult cases were described until now. CONCLUSION: Adult patients with DS diagnosed with epilepsy are not routinely assessed for portosystemic venous shunts. Measuring ammonia levels in patients with DS the day after admission would help detect portosystemic shunts, even if the patients have been previously diagnosed with epilepsy. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: If ammonia levels fluctuate without any apparent cause after seizure, dynamic computed tomography should be performed, especially for patients with DS, whether or not they have been previously diagnosed with epilepsy.

The proportion of clinically relevant alarms decreases as patient clinical severity decreases in intensive care units: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVES: To determine (1) the proportion and number of clinically relevant alarms based on the type of monitoring device; (2) whether patient clinical severity, based on the sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, affects the proportion of clinically relevant alarms and to suggest; (3) methods for reducing clinically irrelevant alarms in an intensive care unit (ICU). DESIGN: A prospective, observational clinical study. SETTING: A medical ICU at the University of Tokyo Hospital in Tokyo, Japan. PARTICIPANTS: All patients who were admitted directly to the ICU, aged ≥18 years, and not refused active treatment were registered between January and February 2012. METHODS: The alarms, alarm settings, alarm messages, waveforms and video recordings were acquired in real time and saved continuously. All alarms were annotated with respect to technical and clinical validity. RESULTS: 18 ICU patients were monitored. During 2697 patient-monitored hours, 11 591 alarms were annotated. Only 740 (6.4%) alarms were considered to be clinically relevant. The monitoring devices that triggered alarms the most often were the direct measurement of arterial pressure (33.5%), oxygen saturation (24.2%), and electrocardiogram (22.9%). The numbers of relevant alarms were 12.4% (direct measurement of arterial pressure), 2.4% (oxygen saturation) and 5.3% (electrocardiogram). Positive correlations were established between patient clinical severities and the proportion of relevant alarms. The total number of irrelevant alarms could be reduced by 21.4% by evaluating their technical relevance. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that (1) the types of devices that alarm the most frequently were direct measurements of arterial pressure, oxygen saturation and ECG, and most of those alarms were not clinically relevant; (2) the proportion of clinically relevant alarms decreased as the patients' status improved and (3) the irrelevance alarms can be considerably reduced by evaluating their technical relevance.

Development of information systems and clinical decision support systems for emergency departments: a long road ahead for Japan.

Emergency care services face common challenges worldwide, including the failure to identify emergency illnesses, deviations from standard treatments, deterioration in the quality of medical care, increased costs from unnecessary testing, and insufficient education and training of emergency personnel. These issues are currently being addressed by implementing emergency department information systems (EDIS) and clinical decision support systems (CDSS). Such systems have been shown to increase the efficiency and safety of emergency medical care. In Japan, however, their development is hindered by a shortage of emergency physicians and insufficient funding. In addition, language barriers make it difficult to introduce EDIS and CDSS in Japan that have been created for an English-speaking market. This perspective addresses the key events that motivated a campaign to prioritise these services in Japan and the need to customise EDIS and CDSS for its population.