Ari M. Lipsky

The value of noninvasive measurement of the compensatory reserve index in monitoring and triage of patients experiencing minimal blood loss.

ABSTRACT Currently available triage and monitoring tools are often late to detect life-threatening clinically significant physiological aberrations and provide limited data in prioritizing bleeding patients for treatment and evacuation. The Compensatory Reserve Index (CRI) is a novel means of assessing physiologic reserve, shown to correlate with central blood volume loss under laboratory conditions. The purpose of this study was to compare the noninvasive CRI device with currently available vital signs in detecting blood loss. Study subjects were soldiers volunteering for blood donation (n = 230), and the control group was composed of soldiers who did not donate blood (n = 34). Data collected before and after blood donation were compared, receiver operator characteristic curves were generated after either donation or the appropriate time interval, and areas under the curves (AUCs) were compared. Compared with pre–blood loss, blood donation resulted in a mean reduction of systolic blood pressure by 3% (before, 123 mmHg; after, 119 mmHg; P < 0.01). The CRI demonstrated a 16% reduction (before, 0.74; after, 0.62; P < 0.01). Heart rate, diastolic blood pressure, and oxygen saturation remained unchanged. The AUC for change in CRI was 0.81, 0.56 for change in heart rate, 0.53 for change in systolic blood pressure, 0.55 and 0.58 for pulse pressure and shock index, respectively. The AUCs for detecting mild blood loss at a single measurement were 0.73 for heart rate, 0.60 for systolic blood pressure, 0.62 for diastolic blood pressure, 0.45 for pulse oximetry, and 0.84 for CRI. The CRI was better than standard indices in detecting mild blood loss. Single measurement of CRI may enable a more accurate triage, and CRI monitoring may allow for earlier detection of casualty deterioration.

Prehospital use of hemostatic dressings by the Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps: A case series of 122 patients.

BACKGROUND Hemostatic dressings are advanced topical dressings designed to control hemorrhage by enhancing clot formation. These dressings may be effective when used on injuries sustained in junctional zones. The Israeli Defense Forces Medical Corps (IDF-MC) chose to equip its medical personnel with the QuikClot Combat Gauze. There is a paucity of data describing clinical use and results of hemostatic dressing especially at the point of injury. The purpose of this article was to report the IDF-MC experience with prehospital use of the QuikClot Combat Gauze in junctional zones in a case series retrieved from the IDF Trauma Registry. METHODS All IDF Trauma Registry documented cases of prehospital use of hemostatic dressings in the IDF-MC between January 2009 and September 2014 were retrieved. Data collection included injury mechanism, wound location, reported success of hemostatic dressing, tourniquet use, lifesaving interventions, mortality, and caregiver identity. RESULTS A total of 122 patients on whom 133 hemostatic dressings were applied were identified. Median age was 22 years. Of the patients, 118 (96.7%) were male and 2 (1.6%) were female (missing, n = 2). Injury mechanism was penetrating in 104 (85.2%), blunt in 4 (3.3%), and combined in 14 (11.5%) patients. Seven patients (5.9%) died. Thirty-seven dressings (27.8%) were used for junctional hemorrhage control (pelvis, shoulder, axilla, buttocks, groin, neck), and 92 dressings (72.1%) were placed in nonjunctional areas (missing, n = 4). Nonjunctional dressings included 63 (47.4%) applied to the extremities, 14 (10.5%) to the back, and 4 (3%) to the head. Hemostatic dressing application was reported as successful in 88.6% (31 of 35 available; missing, n = 2) of junctional hemorrhage applications and in 91.9% (57 of 62 available; missing, n = 1) of extremity hemorrhage applications. CONCLUSION Hemostatic dressings seem to be an effective tool for junctional hemorrhage control and should be considered as a second-line treatment for extremity hemorrhage control at the point of injury. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic study, level V.

Prehospital intubation success rates among Israel Defense Forces providers: epidemiologic analysis and effect on doctrine.

BACKGROUND Advanced airway management is composed of a set of vital yet potentially difficult skills for the prehospital provider, with widely different clinical guidelines. In the military setting, there are few data available to inform guideline development. We reevaluated our advanced airway protocol in light of our registry data to determine if there were a preferred maximum number of endotracheal intubation (ETI) attempts; our success with cricothyroidotomy (CRIC) as a backup procedure; and whether there were cases where advanced airway interventions should possibly be avoided. METHODS This is a descriptive, registry-based study conducted using records of the Israel Defense Forces Trauma Registry at the research section of the Trauma and Combat Medicine Branch, Surgeon General’s Headquarters. We included all casualties for whom ETI was the initial advanced airway maneuver, and the number of ETI attempts was known. Descriptive statistics were used. RESULTS Of 5,553 casualties in the Israel Defense Forces Trauma Registry, 406 (7.3%) met the inclusion criteria. Successful ETI was performed in 317 casualties (78%) after any number of ETI attempts; an additional 46 (11%) underwent CRIC, and 43 (11%) had advanced airway efforts discontinued. ETI was successful in 45%, 36%, and 31% of the first, second, and third attempts, respectively, with an average of 28% success over all subsequent attempts. CRIC was successful in 43 (93%) of 46 casualties in whom it was attempted. Of the 43 casualties in whom advanced airway efforts were discontinued, 29 (67%) survived to hospital discharge. CONCLUSION After the first ETI attempt, success with subsequent attempts tended to fall, with minimal improvement in overall ETI success seen after the third attempt. Because CRIC exhibited excellent success as a backup airway modality, we advocate controlling the airway with CRIC if ETI efforts have failed after two or three attempts. We recommend that providers reevaluate whether definitive airway control is truly necessary before each attempt to control the airway. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Care management, level IV.

Apples and oranges: looking forward to the next generation of combat casualty care statistics.

I combat casualty care requires continuous learning through comparing medical outcomes across battlefields. Differences in outcomes may be caused by the combat care rendered as well as weaponry, geography, and numerous other nonmedical factors. A rough understanding of battlefield lethality and medical care quality is obtained through calculation of the case fatality rate (CFR), percentage killed in action (%KIA), and percentage died of wounds (%DOW) (defined later). These standard statistics serve to isolate, at least partially, the medical care aspect of combat because only casualties (i.e., after injury) are considered. Lesswell standardized, however, are the numbers on which these statistics are based, complicating efforts to make quantitative comparisons across forces. We think it is time to identify newmeasures for assessing combat casualty care as we describe later.

Something's Missing: Peripheral Intravenous Catheter Fracture

We describe a case of peripheral intravenous catheter fracture occurring during a routine training exercise. The supervising instructor immediately placed a venous tourniquet proximal to the insertion site and urgently transported the patient to the hospital. The missing catheter segment was identified within the median cubital vein under ultrasonography and was removed by venous cutdown under local anesthesia. An investigation determined that reinsertion of the needle into the advanced catheter likely caused the fracture and that application of a tourniquet may have prevented embolism of the fractured segment. Our literature review suggested that peripheral intravenous catheter fracture is likely vastly underreported, with only one prior case identified in the English literature. Action was taken following the event to educate all Israeli Defense Force medical providers regarding both proper preventive measures and recognition and treatment of catheter fracture should it occur. This case highlights the importance of health care providers being aware of the possibility of catheter fracture, as well as steps to take to prevent and mitigate its occurrence.

A dynamic mass casualty incident at sea: lessons learned from the Mavi Marmara.

BACKGROUND Mass casualty incidents (MCIs) represent one of the most difficult prehospital challenges faced by medical personnel. When they occur at sea, this challenge may be further complicated by isolation, distance, vessel structure, number of passengers, and limited evacuation means. METHODS We describe our experience and lessons learned from a dynamic MCI in an austere environment at sea. RESULTS Following an armed attack on navy operators boarding the MV Mavi Marmara, a vessel heading for Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces’ medical teams triaged and cared for 62 casualties, among them 9 soldiers; 9 additional casualties were declared dead at the scene. The injured, including 10 triaged as severely wounded, were all evacuated to Israeli hospitals within several hours of the start of the event. Despite the austere conditions and the severity of injuries, all of the injured passengers were able to return to their home countries, and all soldiers returned to duty. Multiple issues were identified as requiring changes or heightened awareness so as to be better prepared for future events of this special nature. CONCLUSION The primary lessons learned related to difficulties in functioning without effective communication, maintaining command and control, coordinating serial evacuation of casualties who were being triaged in parallel, planning for an event with lengthy evacuation times, resolving real-time ethical dilemmas, and preparing our providers mentally. As MCIs tend to be unexpected, preplanning, using preestablished manuals, and drilling for them may prove crucial in such extreme events. Importantly, the lessons learned from this event, with its unique synthesis of multiple contributing factors, remain relevant even in less austere settings. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Care management, level V.

Blood glucose levels as an adjunct for prehospital field triage

OBJECTIVE Elevated blood glucose levels (BGL) are known to be part of the physiologic response to stress following physical trauma. We aimed to study whether a measured BGL might help improve accuracy of field triage. METHODS We conducted a retrospective study using the Israel Defense Forces Trauma Registry. BGLs were determined upon hospital arrival and were not available to medical providers in the field. RESULTS There were 706 casualties in the registry who had a recorded BGL upon hospital arrival. Sixty percent (18/30) of casualties who had a BGL ≥200 mg/dL had been triaged in the field as severely wounded, whereas 11% (71/651) of casualties who had a BGL <200 mg/dL had been triaged as severely wounded. For predicting an Injury Severity Score >15, the positive likelihood ratio using field triage of severe was 11, using BGL ≥200 mg/dL was 8, and using a combination of the two tests was 26. For predicting the need for intensive care unit (ICU) admission, the ratios were 8, 13, and 23, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Elevated BGL improved prediction of high Injury Severity Score and ICU use among casualties triaged as severe. If future research using BGL measured in the field yields similar results, combining BGL with standard field triage may allow for more accurate identification of casualties who need acute field intervention, have major injury, or require ICU admission.