Background: Before patients are admitted into the emergency department, it is important to undertake a pre-hospital process, both in terms of treatment performance and a request for resources from an emergency unit. The existing system to triage patients in Thailand is not functioning to its full capacity in either the primary medical system or pre-hospital treatment with shortcomings in the areas of speed, features, and appropriate systems. There is a high possibility of issuing a false Initial Dispatch Code (IDC), which will cause the over or underutilisation of emergency resources, such as rescue teams, community hospitals and emergency medical volunteers. Methods: A usability system design, together with a reliability test, was applied to develop an application to optimise the pre-hospital process, specifically to sort patients, using an IDC to improve the request for emergency resources. The triage mobile application was developed on both iOS and Android operating systems to support patient triage based on Criteria Based Dispatch (CBD). The 25 main symptom categories covered by CBD were used to design and develop the application, and 12 emergency medical staff, including doctors and nurses, were asked to test the system in the aspects of triage protocol correction, triage reliability, usability and user satisfaction. Results: The results of testing the proposed triage application were compared with the time used to triage by experienced staff and it was found that, in non-trauma cases, it was faster and more effective to use the application for emergency operations and to correct the IDC code representation. Conclusions: The triage application will be utilised to support the pre-hospital process and to classify patients’ conditions before they are admitted to the Emergency Department (ED). The application is suitable for users who are not medical emergency staff. Patients with non-trauma symptoms may be a suitable group to use the application in terms of time used to identify IDC for their own symptoms. The use of the application can be beneficial for those who wish to self-identify their symptoms before requesting medical services.
Several deep models were proposed in image processing, data interpretation, speech recognition, and video analysis. Most of these architectures need a massive proportion of training samples and use arbitrary configuration. This paper constructs a deep learning architecture with feature learning. Graph convolution networks (GCNs), semi-supervised learning and graph data representation, have become increasingly popular as cost-effective and efficient methods. Most existing merging node descriptions for node distribution on the graph use stabilised neighbourhood knowledge, typically requiring a significant amount of variables and a high degree of computational complexity. To address these concerns, this research presents DLM-SSC, a unique method semi-supervised node classification tasks that can combine knowledge from multiple neighbourhoods at the same time by integrating high-order convolution and feature learning. This paper employs two function learning techniques for reducing the number of parameters and hidden layers: modified marginal fisher analysis (MMFA) and kernel principal component analysis (KPCA). The MMFA and KPCA weight matrices are modified layer by layer when implementing the DLM, a supervised pretraining technique that doesn't require a lot of information. Free measuring on citation datasets (Citeseer, Pubmed, and Cora) and other data sets demonstrate that the suggested approaches outperform similar algorithms.
Background: Intravenous adenosine is the recommended treatment for paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT). There is no official recommended method of giving adenosine. We compared the success rates between a standard and alternative method of first dose intravenous adenosine in PSVT. Methods: A pilot parallel randomized controlled study was conducted in the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital. Eligible patients were stable PSVT adult patients. We used block randomization and divided them into two groups, the standard method (double syringe technique of 6 mg of adenosine), and the alternative method (similar to the standard method, then immediately followed by elevating the arm to 90° perpendicular to a horizontal plane for 10 s). The primary outcome was the success rate of electrocardiogram (ECG) response which demonstrated termination of PSVT (at least two-fold of the RR-interval widening or sinus rhythm conversion). Secondary outcomes were complications within one minute after the injection. Results: We allocated 15 patients in each group and analyzed them as intention-to-treat. The success rate was 86.7% in the alternative group and 80% in the standard group (risk difference 6.7%, 95% confidence interval − 19.9 to 33.2%, P 1.00). Complications within one minute after adenosine injection were also similar in both groups, 14 of 15 patients (93%) in each group had no complications, without significant difference. Conclusions: No evidence of the difference between alternative and standard methods occurred, in terms of the success rate of ECG response and complications within one minute after adenosine injection. The standard method of adenosine injection is a safe, easy-to-administer, and widely available treatment for PSVT. Trial Registration: TCTR20200609001.
Background: Traditional massage seems to be safe but not entirely risk free, though serious adverse events are very rare. This report is aimed at illustrating a rare but fatal presentation of massive pulmonary embolism caused by leg massage and also to encourage both massage providers and pregnant women to be aware of undetected or subtle deep vein thrombosis, which could be a life threatening condition as a consequence of leg massage.Case presentation: A 25-year-old primigravid Thai woman underwent massage at a traditional massage shop at 25th week of gestation. Shortly after leg and foot massage, she had a sudden onset of dyspnea, followed by consciousness alteration, brief spastic-like convulsion, became unconscious and suffered a cardiac arrest. Basic life support (BLS) at the event scene as well as during transfer and advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS) at the hospital were provided, resulting in successful resuscitation but persistent coma. Bedside echocardiography showed poor contractility of the dilated right ventricle, and pulmonary embolism was suspected. CT angiography (CTA) revealed multiple concentric intraluminal filling defects within the right and left pulmonary arteries, indicating massive pulmonary embolism. The fetus died in utero and spontaneous labor and vaginal delivery occurred.Conclusion: Leg massage in patients with deep vein thrombosis can dislodge thrombi, leading to life threatening pulmonary embolism, and should be contraindicated. Since pregnant women are at a higher risk of undetected or subtle thromboembolism, traditional massage in pregnant women should be contraindicated unless they are proven to have no such risk.
12 May 2024 in Hong Kong Journal of Emergency Medicine
Background: Older patients face increased sepsis risk, requiring precise prognostic tools in the emergency department (ED). This study aimed to explore factors predicting 28‐day mortality among older (≥60 years) patients with suspicion of sepsis in the ED.Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study. Data for all older patients with clinical suspected sepsis presenting to the ED from 1 October 2018 to 31 December 2018, were collected. Prognostic factors, characteristics, comorbidities, vital signs at triage, the emergency severity score, initial laboratory results, and sepsis bundle treatment were analyzed using univariable and multivariable Cox regression. Hazard ratios (HR) were calculated using these analytical methodologies to prognosticate 28‐day mortality.Results: A total of 329 older patients with suspected sepsis were included. The overall 28‐day mortality was 10.33%. Independent prognostic factors that were significantly associated with 28‐day mortality were malignancy (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 3.67; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.90, 7.09; p < 0.01), oxygen saturation ≤93% (aHR: 3.37; 95% CI: 1.79, 3.43; p < 0.01), and dependent status (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.27; 95% CI: 1.14, 4.53; p = 0.02).Conclusions: This study suggests that “MOD”; M‐Malignancy, O‐Oxygen saturation ≤93%, and D‐Dependent status are significant prognostic indicators for 28‐day mortality among older patients with suspected sepsis in the ED.Trial registration: The trial was retrospectively registered in the Thai Clinical Trial Registry on 06/05/2022, identification number TCTR20220506006.
17 May 2022 in International Journal of Online and Biomedical Engineering (iJOE)
The main purpose of the emergency medical system is a timely and appropriate response that significantly impacts health outcomes. In Thailand, due to lack of staff, emergency medical personnel at the dispatch center have to multitask to interview and dispatch the EMS responses. According to these problems the novel triage mobile application “Triagist” was developed based on Criteria Based Dispatch (CBD) to optimize prehospital care. This study is a pilot study aiming to test the app by evaluating the reliability and rapidity of code dispatching using “Triagist” compared with the usual method; ITEMS, Criteria Based Dispatch Handbook, or emergency medical personnel’ experiences only. A randomized-controlled crossover (AB/BA) design was conducted which compared mobile application “Triagist” and conventional methods. Eighteen experienced emergency medical personnel each were randomly assigned to AB or BA arm. The primary outcome measure was the accuracy and rapidity of code dispatching to 6 simulated scenariosamong experienced emergency medical personnel. Using triage mobile application by experienced emergency medical personnel had gained a chance of correct dispatch 1.5 times, which was significantly more accurate than the conventional method (95%CI 1.03-2.28) and also significantly more rapid dispatch than the conventional method (82 vs 95 sec., p = 0.03)