Background: Immobilization of the cervical spine by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel is a standard procedure. In most EMS, multiple immobilization tools are available.The aim of this study is the analysis of residual spine motion under different types of cervical spine immobilization.Methods: In this explorative biomechanical study, different immobilization techniques were performed on three healthy subjects. The test subjects’ heads were then passively moved to cause standardized spinal motion. The primary endpoints were the remaining range of motion for flexion, extension, bending, and rotation measured with a wireless human motion detector.Results: In the case of immobilization of the test person (TP) on a straight (0°) vacuum mattress, the remaining rotation of the cervical spine could be reduced from 7° to 3° by additional headblocks. Also, the remaining flexion and extension were reduced from 14° to 3° and from 15° to 6°, respectively. The subjects’ immobilization was best on a spine board using a headlock system and the Spider Strap belt system (MIH-Medical; Georgsmarienhütte, Germany). However, the remaining cervical spine extension increased from 1° to 9° if a Speedclip belt system was used (Laerdal; Stavanger, Norway). The additional use of a cervical collar was not advantageous in reducing cervical spine movement with a spine board or vacuum mattress.Conclusions: The remaining movement of the cervical spine is minimal when the patient is immobilized on a spine board with a headlock system and a Spider Strap harness system or on a vacuum mattress with additional headblocks. The remaining movement of the cervical spine could not be reduced by the additional use of a cervical collar.

Background: The management of pain in patients with traumatic injuries is a common task for emergency medicine providers, particularly in the prehospital setting. However, for sufficient and safe analgesia, correct pain recording and documentation is also necessary. The aim of this study was to assess trends in analgesia over the study period and to identify factors that may enable more sufficient pain management in trauma care. Methods: The TraumaRegister DGU^® recorded data of patients who were primarily treated at one of the participating hospitals between 2011 and 2020 and received analgesia as part of their prehospital care. This retrospective analysis included a total of 105.908 severely injured patients from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Patients with and without analgesia were compared, and factors associated with analgesia were investigated with logistic regression analysis. Results: The mean age of the patients enrolled was 50 ± 22 years. 71% were male and 29% were female. Out of all the patients, 66% (n = 70,257) received prehospital analgesia. The average age of patients in the analgesia group was 48 ± 21 years, the non-analgesia group had an average age of 54 ± 23 years. 67% of the male patients received analgesia compared to 64% of the female patients. The mean Injury Severity Score (ISS) in the analgesia group was 21.2 points, compared to 16.5 points in the non-analgesia group. 4% of the patients were under the age of sixteen, and of these, 65% received analgesia. 29% of patients were older than 65 years and received analgesia in 57%. Presence of an emergency physician at scene, was a remarkable independent variable for the receipt of analgesia (Odds Ratio 5.55; p < 0.001). Transportation by helicopter was also a significant predictor for analgesia (OR 1.62; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Analgesia is a crucial aspect of emergency medicine, as evidenced by relevant guidelines. Nevertheless, it is plausible that a considerable proportion of seriously injured patients do not receive optimal analgesic treatment, or at the very least, this is not documented. In this regard, both aspects require optimization.

Infants and children with complex chronic diseases have lifelong, life-threatening conditions and for many, early death is an unavoidable outcome of their disease process. But not all chronic diseases in children are fatal when treated well. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is more common in children with chronic diseases than in healthy children. Resuscitation of infants and children presents significant challenges to physicians and healthcare providers. Primarily, these situations occur only rarely and are therefore not only medically demanding but also associated with emotional stress. In case of resuscitation in infants and children with chronic diseases these challenges become much more complex. The worldwide valid Pediatric Advanced Life Support Guidelines do not give clear recommendations how to deal with periarrest situations in chronically ill infants and children. For relevant life-limiting illnesses, a “do not resuscitate” order should be discussed early, taking into account medical, ethical, and emotional considerations. The decision to terminate resuscitative efforts in cardiopulmonary arrest in infants and children with chronic illnesses such as severe lung disease, heart disease, or even incurable cancer is complex and controversial among physicians and parents. Judging the “outcome” of resuscitation as a “good” outcome becomes complex because for some, life extension itself and for others, quality of life is a goal. Physicians often decide that a healthy child is more likely to have a reversible condition and thereby have a better outcome than a child with multiple comorbidities and chronic health care needs. Major challenges in resuscitation infants and children are that clinicians need to individualize resuscitation strategies in light of each chronic disease, anatomy and physiology. This review aims to highlight terms of resuscitation infants and children with complex chronic diseases, considering resuscitation-related factors, parent-related factors, patient-related factors, and physician-related factors.

Purpose: The appropriate extrication techniques for trauma patients after car accidents remain a topic of controversy. Various techniques for immobilizing the cervical spine during prehospital extrication have been investigated. Methods: This explorative study compared the amount of spinal motion during five different extrication procedures from a racecar and a rallycar performed by two teams: a professional motorsport extrication team and a team of professional emergency medical technicians (EMTs). Two different microelectromechanical systems were used to measure spinal motion, and a motionscore was calculated to compare the amount of remaining spinal motion. A high motionscore indicates high remaining motion and a low motionscore indicates low remaining motion. Results: The use of an extricable seat results in a mean overall motion score of 1617 [95% CI 308–2926]. Emergency extrication without equipment resulted in the lowest overall motionscore 1448 [95% CI 1070–1826]. In case of urgent extrication the Extrication team attained a motionscore of 2118 [95% CI 517–3718] and the EMT team a motionscore of 2932 [95% CI 1427–4435]. When performing the procedure with the aid of a rescue boa, the EMT team achieved an overall mean motionscore in the same range 2725 [95% CI 568–4881] with boa vs. 2932 [95% CI 1427–4435] without boa. When mean scores of individual spinal segments were analyzed, we found that the EMT team did especially worse in immobilizing the cervical spine 198 vs. 758. Conclusions: Regular training of extrication procedures has paid off considerably in reducing spinal movement during extrication from a racecar. If an extricable seat is available, extrication should be performed using it. However, if emergency extrication is necessary, an additional manual cervical spine immobilization should be conducted using the Rautek maneuver to sufficiently reduce cervical spine movement.

(1) Background: Currently, no data are available in the literature investigating the influence of radiotherapy (RT) on endotracheal intubation success in patients with esophageal cancer. This study aims to evaluate the impact of RT on endotracheal intubation quality metrics in patients with esophageal cancer. (2) Methods: Patients with esophageal cancer who underwent RT followed by surgery between 2012 and 2023 at the University Hospital Heidelberg, Germany, were retrospectively analyzed. (3) Results: Fifty-five patients, predominantly males 65.5% with a mean age of 64 years, were enrolled. Overall, 81.8% of the patients had an ASA class of III, followed by 27.2% ASA II. The mean prescribed cumulative total dose to the primary tumor and lymph node metastasis was 48.2 Gy with a mean single dose of 1.8 Gy. The mean laryngeal total dose was 40.0 Gy. Direct laryngoscopy was performed in 80.0% of cases, followed by 12.1% videolaryngoscopy, and 7.2% required fiberoptic intubation. Overall, 96.4% of patients were successfully intubated on the first attempt. (4) Conclusions: It has been demonstrated that post-RT effects can increase the risk of airway management difficulties and complications. The results of our study did not indicate any evidence of impaired advanced airway management in patients with esophageal cancer who had undergone RT.