Prehospital care and interfacility transfer of trauma patients before reaching the emergency of a level-1 trauma care center.

Background: Management of trauma patients includes prevention, prehospital care, appropriate resuscitation at a hospital, definitive treatment, and rehabilitation. Timely and adequate care for a trauma patient is paramount, which can dramatically impact survival. This study was planned to assess the proportion of patients who failed to receive adequate prehospital care before reaching our institute. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in the trauma and emergency department of a level-1 trauma center in eastern India from February to April 2022. The demographic profile, vital parameters, injury, mode of transport, travel duration, referring hospital, and any interventions as per airway/breathing/circulation/hypothermia were collected. Results: The records of a hundred-two patients who were brought to the trauma and emergency department in the study period were reviewed. Road traffic accident involving two wheelers was the leading cause of injury. Eighty-three percent of the patients were referred from other health centers, of which 49 were referred from district headquarters hospitals. Only three patients out of 14 had been provided with an oropharyngeal airway for whom endotracheal intubation was indicated. Only one among the 41 patients needing Philadelphia collar actually received. Sixteen patients were provided supplemental oxygen out of the 35 for whom it was indicated. Out of 68 patients in whom intravenous cannulation and fluid administration were indicated, only 35 patients had received it. Out of 31 patients with fractures, none were provided immobilization. Conclusion: The care of the trauma patients with respect to airway, breathing, circulation, and fracture immobilization was found to be grossly inadequate, emphasizing the need of structured and protocol based prehospital trauma care.

Efficacy of metoclopramide for prevention of gastric regurgitation during endotracheal intubation in the emergency department: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Gastric content regurgitation and aspiration are the dreaded complications of securing the airway. Cricoid pressure hinders intubation and causes lower esophageal sphincter (LES) relaxation. A recent study suggests no added benefit of cricoid pressure in preventing pulmonary aspiration of gastric contents. Metoclopramide increases LES tone, prevents gastroesophageal reflux, and increases antral contractions. Hence, we wanted to study the efficacy of metoclopramide for preventing gastric regurgitation during endotracheal intubation (ETI) in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). Methods: This study was a randomized controlled trial in patients requiring ETI in the ED. The study participants were randomized to receive either metoclopramide (intervention) 10 mg/2 ml intravenous (IV) bolus or a placebo of normal saline (placebo) 2 ml IV bolus 5 min before rapid sequence induction and intubation. The outcome of the study was the visualization of gastric regurgitation at the glottic opening during direct laryngoscopy at the time of intubation. Results: Seventy-four study participants were randomized and allocated to the metoclopramide group (n = 37) or placebo group (n = 37). Gastric regurgitation at the glottis was noted in three study participants (8%) in the metoclopramide group, and six (16%) in the placebo group (odds ratio [OR] - 0.456; 95% confidence interval [CI] of 0.105-1.981; P = 0.295). The study participants who were intubated in the first attempt had less gastric regurgitation compared to ≥2 attempts (OR 0.031; 95% CI of 0.002-0.511; P = 0.015). Conclusion: There was no decrease in regurgitation with metoclopramide as compared to placebo during ETI in study participants presenting to the ED.

Sonographic Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter as a Guide for Correction of Hyponatremia in the Emergency Department: A Cross-sectional Study.

Background: Monitoring sodium levels during the correction of hyponatremia is essential. There is cell swelling due to the movement of water from extracellular to intracellular by osmotic effect in hyponatremia. The cellular swelling in a closed space causes increased intracranial pressure (ICP). The raised ICP correlates with the optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD). So, the research question was whether the ONSD can be used as a guide for the correction of hyponatremia. Methods: It was a prospective observational study conducted on patients with serum sodium below 135 mEq/L presented to the emergency department (ED). The ONSD was measured at the time of presentation and discharge of the patient. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and area under the curve (AUC) were used to test the predictive ability of the ONSD to diagnose hyponatremia. Results: A total of 54 subjects were included in the study. The mean sodium level was 109.3 mEq/L at presentation. The mean ONSD on the right side was 6.24 ± 0.71 mm and on the left side was 6.26 ± 0.64 mm at presentation to ED. The mean ONSD on the right side was 5.81 ± 0.58 mm and on the left side was 5.79 ± 0.56 mm at discharge. The ONSD was not able to predict the sodium level measured both by laboratory and POC methods. Conclusion: The ONSD failed to predict the sodium level in patients with hyponatremia during the correction. The change in ONSD did not correlate with the change in sodium level. How to cite this article: Uttanganakam S, Hansda U, Sahoo S, Shaji IM, Guru S, Topno N, et al. Sonographic Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter as a Guide for Correction of Hyponatremia in the Emergency Department: A Cross-sectional Study. Indian J Crit Care Med 2023;27(4):265-269.

Ultrasound-guided selective peripheral nerve block compared with the sub-dissociative dose of ketamine for analgesia in patients with extremity injuries.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare the analgesic efficacy of ultrasound-guided selective peripheral nerve block (PNB) and sub-dissociative dose ketamine (SDK) for management of acute pain in patients with extremity injuries presenting to the emergency department (ED). METHODS: This prospective, open-label randomized clinical trial was conducted in the ED of a tertiary care Institute. The patients were provided with either ultrasound-guided selective PNB or SDK. The primary outcome was a reduction in pain in numerical rating scale (NRS) by at least 3 points without rescue analgesia. The secondary outcomes were the need for rescue analgesia, adverse events, and patient satisfaction on either arm. RESULTS: A total of 111 patients with isolated traumatic extremity injuries were included in the final analysis. The NRS score was significantly lower in the PNB group compared to the SDK group at 30, 60,120, 180-, and 240-min post-intervention [group ∼ time interaction, F (5, 647) = 21.53, p ≤ 0.001]. All the patients in the PNB group exhibited primary outcome (NRS ≥3 reductions) at 30 min post-intervention compared with 36 (65%) in the SDK group [-1.02(-1.422,0.622)]. Rescue analgesia was required in 10 (18%) patients in the SDK group compared to none in the PNB group [0.663(0.277,1.050)]. The decrease in NRS score from baseline at 30 min was significantly higher in PNB groups compared to the SDK group [-2.166(-2.640, -1.692)]. The most common side effect reported in the SDK group was dizziness 35(64%), followed by nausea 15(27%). None of the patients in the PNB group reported any complications. Patient satisfaction was higher in the PNB group than SDK group. CONCLUSION: The study provides evidence that ultrasound-guided PNB is superior to SDK in terms of its analgesic efficacy in the management of acute pain due to extremity injuries and is associated with higher patient satisfaction. The need for rescue analgesia was significantly less in the PNB group. SDK was associated with a high incidence of dizziness and nausea.

Point-of-care versus central laboratory measurements of electrolytes and hemoglobin: A prospective observational study in critically ill patients in a tertiary care hospital.

Background: A blood gas analyzer is a point-of-care (POC) testing device used in the Emergency Department (ED) to manage critically ill patients. However, there were differences in results found from blood gas analyzers for hemoglobin (Hgb) and electrolytes parameters. We conducted a comparative validity study in ED in patients who had requirements of venous gas analysis, complete blood count, and electrolytes. The objective was to find the correlation of Hgb, sodium (Na+), and potassium (K+) values between the blood gas analyzer and laboratory autoanalyzer. Methods: A total of 206 paired samples were tested for Hgb, Na+, and K+. Total 4.6 ml of venous blood was collected from each participant, 0.6 ml was used for blood gas analysis as POC testing and 4 ml was sent to the central laboratory for electrolyte and Hgb estimation. Results: The mean difference between POC and laboratory method was 0.608 ± 1.41 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.41-0.80; P < 0.001) for Hgb, 0.92 ± 3.5 (95% CI, 0.44-1.40) for Na+, and 0.238 ± 0.62 (95% CI, -0.32-0.15; P < 0.001) for K+. POC testing and laboratory method showed a strong positive correlation with Pearson correlation coefficient (r) of 0.873, 0.928, and 0.793 for Hgb, Na+, and K+, respectively (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Although there was a statistical difference found between the two methods, it was under the United States Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment range. Hence, starting the therapy according to the blood gas analyzer results may be beneficial to the patient and improve the outcome.