The feasibility of civilian prehospital trauma teams carrying and administering packed red blood cells.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility, limitations and costs involved in providing prehospital trauma teams with packed red blood cells (pRBCs) for use in the prehospital setting. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study, examining 18 months of historical data collated by the Queensland Ambulance Service Trauma Response Team (TRT) and the Pathology Queensland Central Transfusion Laboratory was undertaken. RESULTS: Over an 18-month period (1 January 2011-30 June 2012), of 500 pRBC units provided to the TRT, 130 (26%) were administered to patients in the prehospital environment. Of the non-transfused units, 97.8% were returned to a hospital blood bank and were available for reissue. No instances of equipment failure directly contributed to wastage of pRBCs. The cost of providing pRBCs for prehospital use was $A551 (£361) for each unit transfused. CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible and practical to provide prehospital trauma teams with pRBCs for use in the field. Use of pRBCs in the prehospital setting is associated with similar rates of pRBC wastage to that reported in emergency departments.

Ambulance use is associated with higher self-rated illness seriousness: user attitudes and perceptions.

OBJECTIVES: The objective was to study the role and effect of patients' perceptions on reasons for using ambulance services in Queensland, Australia. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted of patients (n = 911) presenting via ambulance or self-transport at eight public hospital emergency departments (EDs). The survey included perceived illness severity, attitudes toward ambulance, and reasons for using ambulance. A theoretical framework was developed to inform this study. RESULTS: Ambulance users had significantly higher self-rated perceived seriousness, urgency, and pain than self-transports. They were also more likely to agree that ambulance services are for everyone to use, regardless of the severity of their conditions. In compared to self-transports, likelihood of using an ambulance increased by 26% for every unit increase in perceived seriousness; and patients who had not used an ambulance in the 6 months prior to the survey were 66% less likely to arrive by ambulance. Patients who had presented via ambulance stated they considered the urgency (87%) or severity (84%) of their conditions as reasons for calling the ambulance. Other reasons included requiring special care (76%), getting higher priority at the ED (34%), not having a car (34%), and financial concerns (17%). CONCLUSIONS: Understanding patients' perceptions is essential in explaining their actions and developing safe and effective health promotion programs. Individuals use ambulances for various reasons and justifications according to their beliefs, attitudes, and sociodemographic conditions. Policies to reduce and manage demand for such services need to address both general opinions and specific attitudes toward emergency health services to be effective.

Planning volunteer responses to low-volume mass gatherings: do event characteristics predict patient workload?

INTRODUCTION: Workforce planning for first aid and medical coverage of mass gatherings is hampered by limited research. In particular, the characteristics and likely presentation patterns of low-volume mass gatherings of between several hundred to several thousand people are poorly described in the existing literature. OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to: 1. Describe key patient and event characteristics of medical presentations at a series of mass gatherings, including events smaller than those previously described in the literature; 2. Determine whether event type and event size affect the mean number of patients presenting for treatment per event, and specifically, whether the 1:2,000 deployment rule used by St John Ambulance Australia is appropriate; and 3. Identify factors that are predictive of injury at mass gatherings. METHODS: A retrospective, observational, case-series design was used to examine all cases treated by two Divisions of St John Ambulance (Queensland) in the greater metropolitan Brisbane region over a three-year period (01 January 2002-31 December 2004). Data were obtained from routinely collected patient treatment forms completed by St John officers at the time of treatment. Event-related data (e.g., weather, event size) were obtained from event forms designed for this study. Outcome measures include: total and average number of patient presentations for each event; event type; and event size category. Descriptive analyses were conducted using chi-square tests, and mean presentations per event and event type were investigated using Kruskal-Wallis tests. Logistic regression analyses were used to identify variables independently associated with injury presentation (compared with non-injury presentations). RESULTS: Over the three-year study period, St John Ambulance officers treated 705 patients over 156 separate events. The mean number of patients who presented with any medical condition at small events (less than or equal to 2,000 attendees) did not differ significantly from that of large (>2,000 attendees) events (4.44 vs. 4.67, F = 0.72, df = 1, 154, p = 0.79). Logistic regression analyses indicated that presentation with an injury compared with non-injury was independently associated with male gender, winter season, and sporting events, even after adjusting for relevant variables. CONCLUSIONS: In this study of low-volume mass gatherings, a similar number of patients sought medical treatment at small (<2,000 patrons) and large (>2,000 patrons) events. This demonstrates that for low-volume mass gatherings, planning based solely on anticipated event size may be flawed, and could lead to inappropriate levels of first-aid coverage. This study also highlights the importance of considering other factors, such as event type and patient characteristics, when determining appropriate first-aid resourcing for low-volume events. Additionally, identification of factors predictive of injury presentations at mass gatherings has the potential to significantly enhance the ability of event coordinators to plan effective prevention strategies and response capability for these events.

Coding external causes of injuries: problems and solutions.

Complete and accurate information about hospitalised injuries is essential for injury risk and outcome research, though the accuracy and reliability of hospital data for injury surveillance are often questioned. To ascertain clinical coders' views of the reasons for a lack of specificity in external cause code usage and ways to improve external cause coding, a nationwide survey of coders was conducted in Australia in 2006. Four hundred and two coders participated in the questionnaire. The results of this study show that discharge summaries and doctors' notes were the poorest source of information regarding external causes, place of injury occurrence, and activity at the time of injury. Coders viewed missing external cause information and missing documentation as having the greatest impact on the quality of external cause coding. A large majority of coders suggested that improving clinical documentation in the emergency department and introducing a centralised structured form for external cause information would improve the quality of external cause coding. Clinical coders are a valuable source of information regarding problems with, and solutions to the collection of high quality data and this research has highlighted several areas where improvements can be made and further research is needed.

The quality of cause-of-injury data: where hospital records fall down.

OBJECTIVES: This research identifies the level of specificity of cause-of-injury morbidity data in Australia. The research explores reasons for poor-quality data across different causes-of-injury areas, including a lack of clinical documentation and insufficient detail in the classification system. METHODS: The 2002/03 hospital morbidity dataset of 593,079 injury-related hospital admissions was analysed to examine the specificity of coded external cause-of-injury data. RESULTS: While overall specificity appeared high, the cause of 47,660 injuries was not specifically defined according to the code assigned. Only 56% of cases for whom injury was the result of an accidental fall were assigned a specific code to identify the causal detail; 19% were assigned an 'Other Specified' fall code, suggesting a lack of specific code availability; and 25% were assigned an 'Unspecified Fall' code, suggesting a lack of clinical documentation to facilitate code selection. CONCLUSIONS: To improve the quality of injury-related hospital morbidity data, two main areas to focus resources are: 1) the development of more specific cause-of-injury codes; and 2) the provision of more detailed documentation from clinicians. IMPLICATIONS: Clinicians and clinical coders need to work together to improve the quality of injury-related coded data through the provision of specific codes and improved clinical documentation. Accurate and comprehensive data pertaining to the circumstances surrounding hospitalised injury events will benefit injury prevention and surveillance initiatives, provide justification for resources related to injury hospitalisation, and assist in external cause research in Australia.

Knowledge of the national emergency telephone number and prevalence and characteristics of those trained in CPR in Queensland: baseline information for targeted training interventions.

Members of the community contribute to survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest by contacting emergency medical services and performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) prior to the arrival of an ambulance. In Australia there is a paucity of information of the extent that community members know the emergency telephone number and are trained in CPR. A survey of Queensland adults (n=4490) was conducted to ascertain current knowledge and training levels and to target CPR training. Although most respondents (88.3%) could state the Australian emergency telephone number correctly, significant age differences were apparent (P<0.001). One in five respondents aged 60 years and older could not state the emergency number correctly. While just over half the respondents (53.9%) had completed some form of CPR training, only 12.1% had recent training. Older people were more likely to have never had CPR training than young adults. Additional demographic and socio-economic differences were found between those never trained in CPR and those who were. The results emphasise the need to increase CPR training in those aged 40 and over, particularly females, and to increase the awareness of the emergency telephone number amongst older people.