A comparison of three supraglottic airway devices used by healthcare professionals during paediatric resuscitation simulation

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the best airway device among the laryngeal mask, I-gel and the laryngeal tube used by healthcare professional groups with different levels of experience with paediatric airway management. Method: Three groups of healthcare professionals were separately provided with brief supervised training in using the three devices. Afterwards the participants were asked to place the airway device. For every participant, the positioning of each device was recorded. The success rate and timing of insertion were measured. Furthermore, each insertion was scored for the ease of insertion, clinical and fibreoptic verification of the position and successful ventilation. Results: A total of 66 healthcare providers (22 paramedics, 22 nurse anaesthetists and 22 anaesthesia residents) participated in the study. The median time of insertion of both the laryngeal mask and the tube was significantly longer than for the I-gel for all professional groups (p<0.001). The success rate with the I-gel was higher than that with the laryngeal mask or tube (p<0.001). Except for the laryngeal mask, there were no differences among the professional groups regarding the fibreoptic evaluation. Conclusions: In terms of both the time required for successful placement and the rate of successful placement, the I-gel is superior to the laryngeal mask and tube in paediatric resuscitation simulations by healthcare professional groups with different levels of experience with paediatric airway management

Ocular manifestations in patients with COVID-19

Background There are only few reports on ocular symptoms and manifestations in association with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Objective The aim of this study is to describe ocular manifestations in the anterior and posterior segments of the eye and to analyze viral prevalence in tears of patients with COVID-19. Methods Hospitalized COVID-19 patients treated from 16 April 2020 to 7 January 2021 at this hospital were screened for ocular manifestations in the anterior and posterior segments. Conjunctival swabs were analyzed for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA. Results A total of 37 patients were enrolled in this study. In the anterior segment we found chemosis of the conjunctiva (5), hyposphagma (2) and conjunctivitis (1). In 11 patients vascular alterations and potentially disease-specific manifestations of the fundus were found in one or both eyes: retinal hemorrhages (5), cotton wool spots (5) and tortuosity (5). One patient demonstrated branch artery occlusion, one had branch retinal vein occlusion and two patients had positive conjunctival swab results in one or both eyes. Conclusion Our findings of the anterior segment are commonly known, although not specific for COVID-19. Various vascular fundus abnormalities were found in the study; however, it is unclear whether these were correlated to systemic comorbidities or whether they were caused or exacerbated by COVID-19. This study suggests that the risk of viral transmission via tears is low

Universitäre Notaufnahmen in der Coronapandemie – Ergebnisse des ReCovERRegisters / University emergency departments in the corona pandemic—Results from the ReCovER registry

Background: The current COVID-19 pandemic, despite the availability of rapid tests and the start of the vaccination campaign, continues to pose major challenges to emergency departments (ED). Structured collection of demographic, clinical, as well as treatment-related data provides the basis for establishing evidence-based processes and treatment concepts. Aim of the work: To present the systematic collection of clinical parameters in patients with suspected COVID-19 in the Registry for COVID-19 in the Emergency Room (ReCovER) and descriptive presentation of the first 1000 patients. Materials and methods: Data from patients with suspected COVID-19, regardless of evidence of SARS-CoV‑2 infection, are continuously entered into a web-based, anonymized registry in ED at six university hospitals. Results: Between 19 May 2020 and 13 January 2021, 1000 patients were entered into the registry, of whom 594 patients (59.4%) were in the SARS-CoV‑2 positive group (PG) and 406 patients (40.6%) were in the negative group (NG). Patients of the PG had significantly fewer pre-existing conditions and a significantly longer latency between symptom onset and presentation to the ED (median 5 vs. 3 days), were more likely to suffer from cough, myalgia, fatigue, and loss of smell/taste and had significantly higher oxygen requirements than NG patients. The rate of severe disease progression was significantly higher in the PG, and persistent symptoms were more common after discharge (11.1 vs. 4.6%). Conclusions: The multicenter collection of comprehensive clinical data on COVID-19 suspected cases in the ED allows analysis of aspects specific to the situation in Germany in particular. This is essential for a targeted review and adaptation of internationally published strategies

Medical and cardio-vascular emergency department visits during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020: is there a collateral damage? A retrospective routine data analysis

Background In this retrospective routine data analysis, we investigate the number of emergency department (ED) consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 in Germany compared to the previous year with a special focus on numbers of myocardial infarction and acute heart failure. Methods Aggregated case numbers for the two consecutive years 2019 and 2020 were obtained from 24 university hospitals and 9 non-university hospitals in Germany and assessed by age, gender, triage scores, disposition, care level and by ICD-10 codes including the tracer diagnoses myocardial infarction (I21) and heart failure (I50). Results A total of 2,216,627 ED consultations were analyzed, of which 1,178,470 occurred in 2019 and 1,038,157 in 2020. The median deviation in case numbers between 2019 and 2020 was - 14% [CI (- 11)-(- 16)]. After a marked drop in all cases in the first COVID-19 wave in spring 2020, case numbers normalized during the summer Thereafter starting in calendar week 39 case numbers constantly declined until the end of the year 2020. The decline in case numbers predominantly concerned younger [- 16%; CI (- 13)-(- 19)], less urgent [- 18%; CI (- 12)-(- 22)] and non-admitted cases [- 17%; CI (- 13)-(- 20)] in particular during the second wave. During the entire observation period admissions for chest pain [- 13%; CI (- 21)-2], myocardial infarction [- 2%; CI (- 9)-11] and heart failure [- 2%; CI (- 10)-6] were less affected and remained comparable to the previous year. Conclusions ED visits were noticeably reduced during both SARS-CoV-2 pandemic waves in Germany but cardiovascular diagnoses were less affected and no refractory increase was noted. However, long-term effects cannot be ruled out and need to be analysed in future studies. [GRAPHICS]

Medical and cardio-vascular emergency department visits during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020: is there a collateral damage? A retrospective routine data analysis

Background In this retrospective routine data analysis, we investigate the number of emergency department (ED) consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 in Germany compared to the previous year with a special focus on numbers of myocardial infarction and acute heart failure. Methods Aggregated case numbers for the two consecutive years 2019 and 2020 were obtained from 24 university hospitals and 9 non-university hospitals in Germany and assessed by age, gender, triage scores, disposition, care level and by ICD-10 codes including the tracer diagnoses myocardial infarction (I21) and heart failure (I50). Results A total of 2,216,627 ED consultations were analyzed, of which 1,178,470 occurred in 2019 and 1,038,157 in 2020. The median deviation in case numbers between 2019 and 2020 was − 14% [CI (− 11)–(− 16)]. After a marked drop in all cases in the first COVID-19 wave in spring 2020, case numbers normalized during the summer. Thereafter starting in calendar week 39 case numbers constantly declined until the end of the year 2020. The decline in case numbers predominantly concerned younger [− 16%; CI (− 13)–(− 19)], less urgent [− 18%; CI (− 12)–(− 22)] and non-admitted cases [− 17%; CI (− 13)–(− 20)] in particular during the second wave. During the entire observation period admissions for chest pain [− 13%; CI (− 21)–2], myocardial infarction [− 2%; CI (− 9)–11] and heart failure [− 2%; CI (− 10)–6] were less affected and remained comparable to the previous year. Conclusions ED visits were noticeably reduced during both SARS-CoV-2 pandemic waves in Germany but cardiovascular diagnoses were less affected and no refractory increase was noted. However, long-term effects cannot be ruled out and need to be analysed in future studies. Graphical abstractOpen Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (3093

A comparison of three supraglottic airway devices used by health care professionals during paediatric resuscitation simulation

Objective The aim of this study was to determine the best airway device among the laryngeal mask, I-gel and the laryngeal tube used by healthcare professional groups with different levels of experience with paediatric airway management. Method Three groups of healthcare professionals were separately provided with brief supervised training in using the three devices. Afterwards the participants were asked to place the airway device. For every participant, the positioning of each device was recorded. The success rate and timing of insertion were measured. Furthermore, each insertion was scored for the ease of insertion, clinical and fibreoptic verification of the position and successful ventilation. Results A total of 66 healthcare providers (22 paramedics, 22 nurse anaesthetists and 22 anaesthesia residents) participated in the study. The median time of insertion of both the laryngeal mask and the tube was significantly longer than for the I-gel for all professional groups (p<0.001). The success rate with the I-gel was higher than that with the laryngeal mask or tube (p<0.001). Except for the laryngeal mask, there were no differences among the professional groups regarding the fibreoptic evaluation. Conclusions In terms of both the time required for successful placement and the rate of successful placement, the I-gel is superior to the laryngeal mask and tube in paediatric resuscitation simulations by healthcare professional groups with different levels of experience with paediatric airway management

Die Zusatzweiterbildung Klinische Akut- und Notfallmedizin

German emergency departments have experienced significant development in recent years due to changes in health care policy as well as continued professionalism in emergency department medical care. The German Medical Association has taken this development into account and included an additional post residency fellowship training program in emergency medicine into their 2018 model training regulation guidelines. The specialized training in emergency medicine covers the initial diagnosis and treatment of patients in the emergency department as well as medical decision making and coordination of further specialist medical care in interdisciplinary cooperation. The following article provides information about requirements, content, and duration of the fellowship training program in emergency medicine, which has now been introduced in emergency departments throughout Germany

Which parameters support disposition decision in suspected COVID-19 cases in the emergency department (ED): a German clinical cohort study

Objectives: One major goal of the emergency department (ED) is to decide, whether patients need to be hospitalised or can be sent home safely. We aim at providing criteria for these decisions without knowing the SARS-CoV-2 test result in suspected cases. Setting: Tertiary emergency medicine. Participants: All patients were treated at the ED of the Charite during the pandemic peak and underwent SARS-CoV-2 testing. Patients with positive test results were characterised in detail and underwent a 14-day-follow-up. Primary and secondary outcome measures: Logistic regression and classification and regression tree (CART) analyses were performed to identify predictors (primary endpoint), which confirm safe discharge. The clinical endpoint was all-cause mortality or need for mechanical ventilation during index stay or after readmission. Results: The primary test population of suspected COVID-19 consisted of n=1255 cases, 45.2% were women (n=567). Of these, n=110 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (8.8%). The median age of SARS-CoV-2-positive cases was 45 years (IQR: 33-66 years), whereas the median age of the group tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 was 42 years (IQR: 30-60 years) (p=0.096). 43.6% were directly admitted to hospital care. CART analysis identified the variables oxygen saturation (<95%), dyspnoea and history of cardiovascular (CV) disease to distinguish between high and low-risk groups. If all three variables were negative, most patients were discharged from ED, and the incidence of the clinical endpoint was 0%. The validation cohort confirmed the safety of discharge using these variables and revealed an incidence of the clinical endpoint from 14.3% in patients with CV disease, 9.4% in patients with dyspnoea and 18.2% in patients with O-2 satuaration below 95%. Conclusions: Based on easily available variables like dyspnoea, oxygen saturation, history of CV disease, approximately 25% of patients subsequently confirmed with COVID-19 can be identified for safe discharge

Which parameters support disposition decision in suspected COVID-19 cases in the emergency department (ED): a German clinical cohort study

Objectives One major goal of the emergency department (ED) is to decide, whether patients need to be hospitalised or can be sent home safely. We aim at providing criteria for these decisions without knowing the SARS-CoV-2 test result in suspected cases. Setting Tertiary emergency medicine. Participants All patients were treated at the ED of the Charite during the pandemic peak and underwent SARS-CoV-2 testing. Patients with positive test results were characterised in detail and underwent a 14-day-follow-up. Primary and secondary outcome measures Logistic regression and classification and regression tree (CART) analyses were performed to identify predictors (primary endpoint), which confirm safe discharge. The clinical endpoint was all-cause mortality or need for mechanical ventilation during index stay or after readmission. Results The primary test population of suspected COVID-19 consisted of n=1255 cases, 45.2% were women (n=567). Of these, n=110 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (8.8%). The median age of SARS-CoV-2-positive cases was 45 years (IQR: 33-66 years), whereas the median age of the group tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 was 42 years (IQR: 30-60 years) (p=0.096). 43.6% were directly admitted to hospital care. CART analysis identified the variables oxygen saturation (<95%), dyspnoea and history of cardiovascular (CV) disease to distinguish between high and low-risk groups. If all three variables were negative, most patients were discharged from ED, and the incidence of the clinical endpoint was 0%. The validation cohort confirmed the safety of discharge using these variables and revealed an incidence of the clinical endpoint from 14.3% in patients with CV disease, 9.4% in patients with dyspnoea and 18.2% in patients with O-2 satuaration below 95%. Conclusions Based on easily available variables like dyspnoea, oxygen saturation, history of CV disease, approximately 25% of patients subsequently confirmed with COVID-19 can be identified for safe discharge

University emergency departments in the corona pandemic-Results from the ReCovER registry

Background The current COVID-19 pandemic, despite the availability of rapid tests and the start of the vaccination campaign, continues to pose major challenges to emergency departments (ED). Structured collection of demographic, clinical, as well as treatment-related data provides the basis for establishing evidence-based processes and treatment concepts. Aim of the work To present the systematic collection of clinical parameters in patients with suspected COVID-19 in the Registry for COVID-19 in the Emergency Room (ReCovER) and descriptive presentation of the first 1000 patients. Materials and methods Data from patients with suspected COVID-19, regardless of evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, are continuously entered into a web-based, anonymized registry in ED at six university hospitals. Results Between 19 May 2020 and 13 January 2021, 1000 patients were entered into the registry, of whom 594 patients (59.4%) were in the SARS-CoV-2 positive group (PG) and 406 patients (40.6%) were in the negative group (NG). Patients of the PG had significantly fewer pre-existing conditions and a significantly longer latency between symptom onset and presentation to the ED (median 5 vs. 3 days), were more likely to suffer from cough, myalgia, fatigue, and loss of smell/taste and had significantly higher oxygen requirements than NG patients. The rate of severe disease progression was significantly higher in the PG, and persistent symptoms were more common after discharge (11.1 vs. 4.6%). Conclusions The multicenter collection of comprehensive clinical data on COVID-19 suspected cases in the ED allows analysis of aspects specific to the situation in Germany in particular. This is essential for a targeted review and adaptation of internationally published strategies