Suspicion and treatment of severe sepsis. An overview of the prehospital chain of care

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition where the risk of death has been reported to be even higher than that associated with the major complications of atherosclerosis, i.e. myocardial infarction and stroke. In all three conditions, early treatment could limit organ dysfunction and thereby improve the prognosis

Extrinsic CPT Violation in Neutrino Oscillations in Matter

We investigate matter-induced (or extrinsic) CPT violation effects in neutrino oscillations in matter. Especially, we present approximate analytical formulas for the CPT-violating probability differences for three flavor neutrino oscillations in matter with an arbitrary matter density profile. Note that we assume that the CPT invariance theorem holds, which means that the CPT violation effects arise entirely because of the presence of matter. As special cases of matter density profiles, we consider constant and step-function matter density profiles, which are relevant for neutrino oscillation physics in accelerator and reactor long baseline experiments as well as neutrino factories. Finally, the implications of extrinsic CPT violation on neutrino oscillations in matter for several past, present, and future long baseline experiments are estimated.Comment: 47 pages, 7 figures, RevTeX4. Final version to be published in Phys. Rev.

Development and Evaluation of a Computerised Decision Support System for use in pre-hospital care

The aim of the thesis was to develop and evaluate a Computerised Decision Support System (CDSS) for use in pre-hospital care. The thesis was guided by a theoretical framework for developing and evaluating a complex intervention. The four studies used different designs and methods. The first study was a systematic review of randomised controlled trials. The second and the last studies had experimental and quasi-experimental designs, where the CDSS was evaluated in a simulation setting and in a clinical setting. The third study included in the thesis had a qualitative case study design. The main findings from the studies in the thesis were that there is a weak evidence base for the use of CDSS in pre-hospital care. No studies have previously evaluated the effect of CDSS in pre-hospital care. Due to the context, pre-hospital care is dependent on protocol-based care to be able to deliver safe, high-quality care. The physical format of the current paper based guidelines and protocols are the main obstacle to their use. There is a request for guidelines and protocols in an electronic format among both clinicians and leaders of the ambulance organisations. The use of CDSS in the pre-hospital setting has a positive effect on compliance with pre-hospital guidelines. The largest effect is in the primary survey and in the anamnesis of the patient. The CDSS also increases the amount of information collected in the basic pre-hospital assessment process. The evaluated CDSS had a limited effect on on-the-scene time. The developed and evaluated CDSS has the ability to increase pre-hospital patient safety by reducing the risks of cognitive bias. Standardising the assessment process, enabling explicit decision support in the form of checklists, assessment rules, differential diagnosis lists and rule out worst-case scenario strategies, reduces the risk of premature closure in the assessment of the pre-hospital patient

Development and Evaluation of a Computerised Decision Support System for use in pre-hospital care

The aim of the thesis was to develop and evaluate a Computerised Decision Support System (CDSS) for use in pre-hospital care. The thesis was guided by a theoretical framework for developing and evaluating a complex intervention. The four studies used different designs and methods. The first study was a systematic review of randomised controlled trials. The second and the last studies had experimental and quasi-experimental designs, where the CDSS was evaluated in a simulation setting and in a clinical setting. The third study included in the thesis had a qualitative case study design. The main findings from the studies in the thesis were that there is a weak evidence base for the use of CDSS in pre-hospital care. No studies have previously evaluated the effect of CDSS in pre-hospital care. Due to the context, pre-hospital care is dependent on protocol-based care to be able to deliver safe, high-quality care. The physical format of the current paper based guidelines and protocols are the main obstacle to their use. There is a request for guidelines and protocols in an electronic format among both clinicians and leaders of the ambulance organisations. The use of CDSS in the pre-hospital setting has a positive effect on compliance with pre-hospital guidelines. The largest effect is in the primary survey and in the anamnesis of the patient. The CDSS also increases the amount of information collected in the basic pre-hospital assessment process. The evaluated CDSS had a limited effect on on-the-scene time. The developed and evaluated CDSS has the ability to increase pre-hospital patient safety by reducing the risks of cognitive bias. Standardising the assessment process, enabling explicit decision support in the form of checklists, assessment rules, differential diagnosis lists and rule out worst-case scenario strategies, reduces the risk of premature closure in the assessment of the pre-hospital patient

Patienters komfort under ambulanstransport : En interventionsstudie

Patientens liggkomfort under ambulanstransport är en viktig faktor i omvårdnaden i ambulanssjukvård. Vi tror att en ökad komfort kan minska patientens lidande. Det är flera faktorer som påverkar komforten i en ambulans, hur fordonet framförs, hur vårdaren agerar, patientens tillstånd mm. När det kommer till liggkomforten är personalen begränsad av det material som finns att tillgå. I syfte att förbättra komforten har vi haft möjlighet att prova en säck, att transportera patienter i och jämföra den med det gamla sättet, med lakan och filtar. Kan ett nytt sätt att bädda ner patienten kunna förbättra komforten under ambulanstransport?Studiens syfte var att undersöka patienters upplevelse vid användandet av två olika metoder för bäddning på ambulansbåren. Studien är kvantitativ randomiserad interventionsstudie för att jämföra patientens upplevda komfort vid två olika bäddmetoder. Datainsamlingen har bestått av enkäter där patienter besvarat frågor angående den upplevda komforten under ambulanstransport. Patienterna fick besvara sex påstående angående komfort, temperatur, trygghet och integritet. Enkäten besvarades av 94 patienter. Hälften av dessa har transporterats med lakan och filtar och resten med patientsäckar.Studien visar att vid samtliga påstående har patienterna i patientsäcksgruppen varit mer positiva, men skillnaderna har inte varit signifikanta.Denna studie omfattar ett relativt litet antal patienter, ett större material behövs för att generalisera eventuella skillnader mellan grupperna. Resultaten pekar ändå på att patienterna som transporterades i patientsäcken upplevde en större komfort.Program: Fristående kursUppsatsnivå: C</p

Ambulance nurses’ experiences as the sole caregiver with critical patients during long ambulance transports: an interview study

Abstract Background Working in rural areas involves tackling long distances and occasional lack of supportive resources. Ambulance nurses are faced with the responsibility of making immediate autonomous decisions and providing extended care to critically ill patients during prolonged ambulance transport to reach emergency medical facilities. This study aims to expose the experiences of ambulance nurses acting as primary caregivers for critically ill patients during lengthy ambulance transfers in rural regions. Method Fifteen nurses employed in an ambulance service within sparsely populated rural areas were subjected to semi-structured interviews. The collected data underwent qualitative content analysis. Result The analysis resulted in one overarching theme with two categories. The theme is ‘Safety in the Professional Role,’ and the two categories are ‘Working in sparsely populated areas presents challenges’ and ‘Rare events: when routine cannot be established.’ The findings suggest that working as an ambulance nurse in a rural setting poses various challenges that can be highly stressful. Delivering care to critically ill patients during extended ambulance transports requires the knowledge, experience, and careful planning of the healthcare provider in charge. Conclusions The findings underscore the necessity for thorough planning and adaptable thinking when attending to critically ill patients during extended transport scenarios. The absence of supporting resources can render the task demanding. Nevertheless, participants reported an inherent tranquility that aids them in maintaining focus amid their responsibilities

Reasons for bias in ambulance clinicians’ assessments of non-conveyed patients : a mixed-methods study

The number of ambulance assignments and the influx of patients to the emergency departments (EDs) in Sweden have increased in recent years. This is one reason the protocol for prehospital emergency care was developed around referring patients for non-conveyance, either through the see-and-convey elsewhere approach or through the see-and-treat approach. However, this protocol has led to challenges in patient assessments