The Immo Traffic Light System as a Decision-Making Tool for Prehospital Spinal Immobilization—A Systematic Review.

Background: Spinal injuries are difficult injuries to assess yet can be associated with significant neurological damage. To avoid secondary damage, immobilization is considered state of the art trauma care. The indication for spinal immobilization must be assessed, however, for potential complications as well as its advantages and disadvantages.

Optimizing Emergency Medical Service Structures Using a Rule-Based Discrete Event Simulation-A Practitioner's Point of View.

Many studies in research deal with optimizing emergency medical services (EMS) on both the operational and the strategic level. It is the purpose of this method-oriented article to explain the major features of "rule-based discrete event simulation" (rule-based DES), which we developed independently in Germany and Switzerland. Our rule-based DES addresses questions concerning the location and relocation of ambulances, dispatching and routing policies, and EMS interplay with other players in prehospital care.

Epidemiology and predictors of traumatic spine injury in severely injured patients: implications for emergency procedures.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the prevalence and predictors of spinal injuries that are suitable for immobilization.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study drawing from the multi-center database of the TraumaRegister DGU, spinal injury patients ≥ 16 years of age who scored ≥ 3 on the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) between 2009 and 2016 were enrolled.

Results: The mean age of the 145,833 patients enrolled was 52.

Development of an Adapted Model for Decision-Making to Improve Reasoning and Risk Assessment in an Emergency Team: A Prospective Simulation Study.

Medical staff is rarely trained in structured decision-making, relying instead on intuition without due consideration for the associated pros and cons. We adopted a model for decision-making to improve reasoning and risk assessment and carried out a prospective simulation study using paramedic students in a three-year training program. We conducted a training session in which participants were lectured on decision-making using the FAR-BEK model (German abbreviation for facts, alternatives, risks, competence, decision, control), physiological processes in decision-making under stress, as well as medico-legal aspects for the comprehension and justification of medical decisions.