Needlessly Treated: Evaluation of Prehospital Needle Thoracostomy.

Background: Needle thoracostomy is a potentially life-saving intervention for tension pneumothorax but may be overused, potentially leading to unnecessary morbidity.

Objective: To review prehospital needle thoracostomy indications, effectiveness, and adverse outcomes.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted based on registry data for a United States Midwestern Level I trauma center for a 7.

Is pain really undertreated? Challenges of addressing pain in trauma patients during prehospital transport and trauma resuscitation.

Background: Prior research has documented the inadequacy of pain management for trauma patients in the emergency department (ED), with rates of pain assessment and opioid administration averaging about 50%. Such rates, however, may be misleading and do not adequately capture the complexity of pain management practices in a trauma population. The goal of the study was to determine if pain was undertreated at the study hospital or if patient acuity explained the timing and occurrence of pain treatment in the prehospital setting and the ED.