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  • Management of bleeding in trauma victims by Portuguese nurses in prehospital setting
    Publication . Mota, Mauro; Reis Santos, Margarida; Santos, Eduardo JF; Figueiredo, Andrea; Melo, Filipe; Albuquerque, Sara; Cunha, Madalena
    Introduction: External bleeding is the leading preventable cause of death from traumatic injuries. Implementation of guidelines for its control have been associated with a significant reduction in mortality. The objectives of this study were to provide a characterisation of trauma patients with external bleeding and to compare the outcomes from specific autonomous interventions applied by nurses in prehospital care.Methods: A non-randomised prospective study was conducted in the Immediate Life Support Ambulances in Portugal, from 1 March 2019 to 30 April 2020. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether external bleeding was controlled or not on their arrival at the emergency room.Results: A total of 189 patients were included in this study (73.0% men; mean age of 53.6 years). Among these patients, 140 (74.1%) had their external bleeding controlled by prehospital nurse’s intervention. The average time of assistance at the incident site was 31.5 min. Patients with uncontrolled bleeding had a higher average rescue time (30.8 ±15.2 vs 33.7 ±13.0). Cryotherapy was administered to 15.9% of all patients and 93.3% of these patients arrived at the emergency room with controlled bleeding (p=0.01).Discussion: Despite the substantial reduction in the number of patients who keep bleeding after prehospital care, it was observed that one fifth of patients have external bleeding on arrival at the emergency room. Cryotherapy has been shown to be effective in controlling external bleeding. Failure to use haemostatic agents may explain the ineffective control of more complex external bleeding.Contribution to Emergency Nursing Practice: The current literature on management of bleeding in trauma patients is scarce and contradictory, especially in terms of interventions provided by AUTHORSMAURO AL MOTA PhD, RN1,2,3,4,5MARGARIDA REIS SANTOS PhD, RN6,7EDUARDO JF SANTOS PhD, RN2,3ANDREA FIGUEIREDO MSN, RN5FILIPE MELO MSN, RN5,8,9SARA ALBUQUERQUE MSc, MD10MADALENA CUNHA PhD, RN2,31. Abel Salazar Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal2. Health School of the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, Portugal3. Health Sciences Research Unit: Nursing (UICISA: E), Nursing School of Coimbra (ESEnfC), Portugal4. Hospital Nossa Senhora da Assunção, Local Health Unit of Guarda, Seia, Portugal5. INEM – National Institute of Medical Emergency. Portugal6. Nursing School of Porto, Porto, Portugal7. CINTESIS – Center for Health Technology and Services Research, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal8. Hospital de Faro. University Hospital Center of Algarve. Faro, Portugal9. ABC – Algarve Biomedical Centre. Faro, Portugal10. Group of Health Centers – Greater Porto VII – Gaia, USF Nova Salus, Gaia, PortugalRESEARCH ARTICLESManagement of bleeding in trauma victims by Portuguese nurses in prehospital setting rehospital teams led by a registered nurse. In addition, interventions vary from country to country.This article increases awareness of autonomous interventions implemented by prehospital nurses to manage external bleeding.Key implications for emergency nursing practice identified in this study suggest greater fluid therapy appears harmful while cryotherapy achieved the best results (control of the bleeding on emergency room arrival). This may contribute to the review of institutional algorithms and training in this area.
  • Pre-hospital treatment of acute trauma pain: an observational study
    Publication . Mota, Mauro; Reis Santos, Margarida; Santos, Eduardo; Henriques, Carla; Matos, Ana; Cunha, Madalena
    Objective: To describe and analyze the effectiveness of nurses’ interventions in pain reduction among patients with traumatic injury. Methods: Prospective cohort study conducted in the Immediate Life Support Ambulances in Portugal from March 1, 2019 to April 30, 2020. We have collected data on the kind of interventions implemented and the time elapsed during rescue procedures. To investigate the course of acute trauma pain, a 11-point Numeric Rating Scale was used. Changes in the level of pain registered throughout the three assessment moments were studied using linear mixed-effects models with random intercepts to account for the repeated measurements conducted on the same patient. These changes were assessed before and after the administration of the pain relief interventions. Results: 596 patients were included in this study. Most of them were male (65.9%) and had a mean age of 53.05±19.72 years. There was a reduction in the average pain intensity of 2.44 points (p<0.005), between the beginning and end of the assessment, and a reduction of 39.62% among the patients who were experiencing a level of pain equal to or greater than 7 (46.7% vs 7.08%, p<0.05). Measures involving the use of morphine, cryotherapy and relationship-based measures have proven to be effective. Comfort measures as a whole do not seem to have a significant impact on pain relief. Conclusion: Pre-hospital pharmacological and non-pharmacological nurses’ interventions have proven to be effective in reducing pain. Comfort measures have not been proved to be effective, so their potential must be rethought and enhanced.