James A. Pfaff

Out-of-Hospital Combat Casualty Care in the Current War in Iraq

STUDY OBJECTIVE We describe outcomes for battle casualties receiving initial treatment at a US Army consolidated battalion aid station augmented with emergency medicine practitioners, advanced medic treatment protocols, and active medical direction. Battalion aid stations are mobile facilities integral to combat units, providing initial phases of advanced trauma life support and then evacuation. The setting was a forward base in central Iraq, with units engaged in urban combat operations. METHODS This was a retrospective observational study. Rates of battle casualties, mechanism, evacuations, and outcome were calculated. Corresponding Iraqi theater-wide US casualty rates were also calculated for indirect comparison. RESULTS The study population consisted of 1.1% of the total US military population in the Iraqi theater. Data were available for all battle casualties. The study facilitys battle casualty rate was 22.2%. The case fatality rate was 7.14%, and the out-of-theater evacuation rate was 27%. Analysis of evacuated patients revealed a study average Injury Severity Score of 10 (95% confidence interval [CI] 8 to 12). Concurrent theater aggregate US casualty rates are provided for contextual reference and include battle casualty rate of 6.7%, case fatality rate of 10.45%, out-of-theater evacuation rate of 18%, and average out-of-theater evacuation casualty Injury Severity Score of 10 (95% CI 9.5 to 10.5). CONCLUSION The study battalion aid station experienced high casualty and evacuation rates while also demonstrating relatively low case fatality rates. A relatively high proportion of patients were evacuated out of the combat zone, reflecting both the battle casualty rate and number of patients surviving. Future effort should focus on improving out-of-hospital combat casualty data collection and prospective validation of emergency medicine-based out-of-hospital battlefield care and medical direction.

The Retrospective Prevalence of Community-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Soft Tissue Abscesses at Two Military Level I Trauma Centers

STUDY OBJECTIVE Many studies have shown that community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CAMRSA) is a very prevalent organism. However, no data have been published to date with regard to CAMRSA prevalence in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) of a military medical facility. Our objective is to estimate the period prevalence of CAMRSA in cases of soft tissue abscesses seen in the emergency departments of two major military hospitals. METHODS A retrospective review of electronic records was performed from January 1, 2004 to August 10, 2005. This database was used to identify patients with the diagnosis of abscess, the procedure code for incision and drainage, and culture of wound. After data were accumulated, standard prevalence calculations were applied to determine prevalence of CAMRSA in abscesses at our emergency departments. Antibiotic susceptibilities were then evaluated with regard to the CAMRSA bacteria. RESULTS The prevalence at our two emergency departments was 68% (751 abscesses, 220 cultured, 155 methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA)-positive cultures). The prevalence at Brooke Army Medical Center and Wilford Hall Medical Center emergency departments was 70% (520 abscesses, 145 cultured, and 101 MRSA positive) and 65% (231 abscesses, 75 cultured, and 49 MRSA positive), respectively. CONCLUSION The occurrence of CAMRSA is not isolated to the civilian population. The prevalence of CAMRSA in this population is significant, and may pose serious operational and deployment-related ramifications requiring the attention of military medical planners as well as forward medical care providers. The probability of CAMRSA infection should be considered when treating soft tissue abscesses in the military emergency department.

Postdischarge secobarbital after ED migraine treatment decreases pain and improves resolution

OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to determine whether the addition of postdischarge oral secobarbital to standard emergency department (ED) migraine headache therapy improves pain relief and headache resolution compared with placebo. SETTING The setting is an urban ED with 70 000 yearly visits. METHODS This is an Institutional Review Board-approved, randomized, nonconsecutive, double-blinded, concealed, and placebo-controlled clinical trial. Patients with a clinical diagnosis of migraine underwent standard ED treatment and were discharged with 2 tablets of either secobarbital 100 mg or placebo. At home arrival, subjects recorded headache pain on a visual analog scale (VAS), took 1 tablet, and went to bed, taking the second tablet after 1 hour if not asleep. Upon awakening, subjects completed a second VAS and survey. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS The VAS data were analyzed using 2-tailed t test with unequal variance. Headache resolution data were analyzed using Fisher exact test. RESULTS Fifty subjects were enrolled. Complete data and follow-up were available for 30 subjects (60%). Fourteen subjects received placebo; 16 received secobarbital. Secobarbital subjects reported an average headache pain decrease of 25 mm (-13 to -38) compared with an average increase of 3 mm (-13 to 19) in the placebo group (P = .01). Ninety-four percent of the secobarbital group vs 50% of the placebo group had complete or partial headache resolution (P < .02). All subjects in the secobarbital group reported some relief. CONCLUSIONS Addition of postdischarge oral secobarbital to a standard ED migraine treatment regimen decreased headache pain at 24 hours after discharge and improved the rate of headache resolution compared with placebo.

Diagnostic and Predictive Values of Thirst, Angiotensin II, and Vasopressin During Trauma Resuscitation

Abstract Background. Thirst perception involves neurochemical signals attributed to acute elevation of arginine vasopressin (AVP) and angiotensin II (AT2) levels, and may accompany acute hemorrhage. Objective. To determine whether thirst or plasma AVP or AT2 levels predict hemorrhagic shock, injury severity, or outcome in trauma patients at initial presentation. Methods. This was a prospective case series of adult subjects presenting as trauma activations to an urban level I trauma center. Subjects were included if they were alert and nonintoxicated. During resuscitation, subjects were queried for thirst perception using binary and continuous data formats employing a 100-mm nonhatched visual analog scale. Blood for AT2 and AVP assessment was obtained during initial laboratory collection. Other data were abstracted retrospectively from our trauma registry. Crude and stratified analyses (blunt and penetrating trauma) assessed the correlation of thirst, AVP, and AT2 to the initial shock index, base deficit, blood transfusion requirement, admission, and Injury Severity Score (ISS). Our institutional review board (IRB) granted a waiver of informed consent. Results. Of 105 subjects, the average age was 35 years (95% confidence interval [CI] 32 to 38), with 31% penetrating trauma. For AVP, there was no difference in thirst perception between subjects with normal (59 mm, 95% CI 47 to 71) versus elevated (63 mm, 95% CI 56 to 70) plasma levels. For AT2, results were likewise insignificant for normal (63 mm, 95% CI 56 to 70) versus elevated (58 mm, 95% CI 46 to 70) plasma levels. Thirst, AT2 level, and AVP level demonstrated no correlation to shock index, base deficit, transfusion requirement, hospital admission, or ISS. Conclusion. The results of this study imply that thirst severity and AVP and AT2 plasma levels are not reliable predictors of impending hemorrhagic shock, injury severity, or outcome. The presence or absence of severe thirst should not be employed as a primary marker for dismissing or suspecting incipient shock.

Emergency Department Wounds Managed by Combat Medics: A Case Series

BACKGROUND Combat medics are an integral part of their unit helping to conserve the fighting strength. Minor wounds are a common problem in the deployed settings that affect a soldiers ability to partake in operations. While the medics often manage wound care, there is very little data on the outcomes. METHODS Cases were acquired as part of a quality assurance project providing training feedback to medics on wound management. Laceration management is delegated to the medic at the direction of the provider. Follow-up included a series of short questions regarding wound outcomes: infection, revision, and cosmetic outcome (extremely satisfied = 1, unsatisfied = 5). Chart review was used when direct follow-up with the patient was not available for the remainder of the wounds. RESULTS The project period was from May 2014 to June 2015. During this time there were 30 wound repairs documented. Direct contact follow-up was available for 57% of the encounters, the remainder was via chart review. The location of the wounds were as follows: facial 5, head/neck 0, upper extremity (excluding hand) 3, hand 16, lower extremity 5, and trunk 1. The average wound length was 2.98 cm (range, 0.8-8.0 cm). No wounds became infected. No wounds required revision. The average cosmetic rating was 1.8 (95% confidence interval = 1.48-2.12). CONCLUSIONS In this series of wounds closed by medics in the emergency department no complications or revisions were necessary. Further research is needed to determine if this can be extrapolated to other military settings.