London Trauma Conference addresses key questions in emergency medicine

The ninth London Trauma Conference took place at the Royal Geographical Society, Kensington Gore, between 8 December and 11 December 2015. A main programme of presentations, where speakers addressed a number of topical questions in trauma and emergency medicine, was supplemented by breakaway sessions held parallel to the main conference. The concurrent London Cardiac Arrest Symposium also returned for another year. The Journal of Paramedic Practice once again attended the Air Ambulance and Pre-hospital Care Day held on 10 December, which focused on trauma issues directly relevant to professionals working in the pre-hospital setting.

Proceedings began with Prof Pierre Carli discussing pre-hospital extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Carli gave an overview of how the treatment works in Paris, providing results and considering its role in the future. Interestingly, it was found in France that transferring into hospital for ECMO with ongoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) had very poor results, and so the need for earlier intervention and pre-hospital ECMO became apparent.

Dr Thomas Lindner then spoke on CPR in helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) and the new European Resuscitation Council Guidelines. He explained how the key message in cardiac arrest remains minimal interruption of high-quality chest compressions. He also emphasised how an automated external defibrillator takes 20 seconds to shock, and so clinicians should use that time to decide if a patient needs shocking so they can continue compressions.

Dr Marius Rehn then gave a talk on rapid response cars (RRCs) and whether they are more dangerous than aircraft. Rehn highlighted how London’s Air Ambulance attends around five jobs a day, 32% by aircraft and 68% by RRC. He pointed out that while aviation is heavily regulated, RRCs are not. He noted that one of the easiest ways to improve safety in RRCs is to strap the equipment and ensure passengers are restrained and seated.

Assoc Prof Andrew Pearce followed with a talk on making the best of long distance critical care. Pearce explained how the remoteness of much of Australia makes the provision of pre-hospital care challenging. However, he emphasised that as pre-hospital practitioners you are ‘never alone’, as there is always someone you can call for help and advice. He went on to say that the need for a retrieval service is not just about transport, but about being able to bring critical and definitive care to patients.

After coffee, Mr Andy Thurgood gave an engaging talk on the agitated trauma patient, considering causes, rules and practicalities. He explained how agitation is a feeling of aggravation or restlessness brought on by provocation or a medical condition. Thurgood suggested it is important as a health professional to consider what may cause the provocation of a patient. For example, an agitated patient could be ‘a dying patient that is trying really hard to stay alive.’ One of the most interesting take home points from Thurgood’s talk was that there is not always a medical cause for agitation in the trauma patient. He suggested that trapped agitated patients may have nothing wrong with them and simply want to be talked to and reassured.

Dr Leif Rognas discussed setting up a national retrieval service in Denmark, where the brief was to set up a state-of-the-art pre-hospital care service, with rapid access to highly specialised hospital treatment, to the entire Danish population. This was followed by Dr Rhys Thomas, who discussed setting up a retrieval service in Wales. Thomas explained that starting a national retrieval service takes a good story, organisation collaboration, hard work and persistence. The clinical model of the Welsh national retrieval service consists of pre-hospital critical care, adult and paediatric time-critical stabilisation and transfer, neonatal and maternal support to free-standing midwifery-led units and home births, and major incident and mass-casualty support. An interesting comparison: governmental funding for the retrieval service in Denmark means the service is more dependent on government, but acquiring funding is easier and it offers a higher degree of political awareness.

Dr Per Kristian Hyldmo gave the final pre-lunch talk on a reconsideration of spinal immobilisation, including when it may be appropriate. The discussion surrounding immobilisation remains ambivalent; however, Hyldmo closed with the amusing question: ‘When there is little evidence what are your options: Cochrane? Or GOBSATT (good old boys sitting around the table talking)?’

Mr Tom Judge gave the first talk after lunch on US air ambulances. Judge explained how in the US, if ambulance services transport the patient you get paid, whereas if you do not, you get no money. As a result, this has led to unhealthy competition, where contemporary HEMS in the US is driven by demand. But, with a market-driven system medical necessity often goes down and costs go up. This sparks the question as to whether this is an aviation business or a medical service? However, Judge presented evidence to suggest there is reasonable cost benefit in having air ambulances. He also argued that helicopters should be seen as instruments of time: time to team, time to tertiary centre, and total time.

The keynote talk for the day was delivered by Prof Sir Simon Wessely on the myth of panic. Wessely’s entertaining talk highlighted how approximately 10% of the population think their health is at risk no matter what is going on at the time. Considering associations of distress, Wessely emphasised how people who cannot reach friends or family following major incidents find themselves more affected than those who can. Debriefing has been used whenever something bad happens; however, it does not always work. Not everyone wants or needs to talk re-traumatisation, it interferes with the recovery process, and it impedes people talking to who they want, when they want. Wessely also argued that debriefing increases post-traumatic stress disorder. He said that only 1% of Londoners thought they needed professional help after the 7/7 bombings. The immediate mental health measures that are needed after mass-casualty incidents, such as bombings, are accurate and timely, practical information; communication; security, food, warmth, shelter and transport; and practical assistance with the legal system, employers, authorities etc. And if people want to talk it should be when they want to, and to who they want to. Wessely noted that less than 10% of soldiers want to talk to medical professionals or welfare services about traumatic incidents. Most want to talk to friends and family.

Prof Kai Zacharowski then spoke on pre-hospital sepsis, considering how to make a diagnosis, what interventions count, and whether biomarkers are the future. Zacharowski emphasised that sepsis should be a serious consideration among ambulance services, as care can begin pre-hospital. By raising suspicions of possible sepsis to hospital staff, the patient can be prioritised correctly.

Prof Zacharowski followed with a quick fire session on point-of-care testing in pre-hospital haemorrhage.

Dr Julian Thompson then questioned if pre-hospital crew resource management (CRM) and standard operating procedures (SOPs) can be implemented in the hospital. Defective judgement and poor teamwork affects ability to provide successful airway management, so can pre-hospital CRM and SOPs be implemented in hospital? Thompson concluded that it is probably not possible across an institution, it is highly applicable to high-risk situations, and that clinicians should select a small well-governed team and aspire to excellence at the point of greatest need.

Dr Samy Sadek then looked at pre-hospital resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) a year on, considering whether or not it works. Sadek presented results of REBOA by London’s Air Ambulance since being introduced 2 years ago. He reported seven cases of successful placement and four deaths (none due to exsanguination). The lack of REBOA cases illustrates how it is only considered in the sickest patients. A year on from last year’s talk that Sadek gave, a number of questions can be answered. In terms of potential complications, London’s Air Ambulance have reported one dissection, no ruptures, a thrombus, and no cases of displacement. Tolerance remains unknown—the maximum length of time undertaken by London’s Air Ambulance was 2 hours and 47 minutes. Diagnostic certainty is still unclear as there have been a few cases that were missed. While the definite benefit of REBOA is still unclear, Sadek offered a very sincere reflection of his own REBOA experience, where he feels he has definitely saved the lives of people who would otherwise have died.

Dr Matt Thomas then spoke on pharmacologically assisted laryngeal mask insertion (PALM), considering whether it was an elegant rescue technique or a dangerous compromise. Thomas concluded that it is a rescue technique rather than a primary technique, and should be considered as a plan B. However, if you are considering PALM then the patient probably needs a rapid sequence induction.

Mr Tom Judge closed the day with a talk on videolaryngoscopy, asking whether it is the standard of pre-hospital airway care. Judge highlighted that use of videolaryngoscopes increased first tube and overall intubation success rate. However, it remains expensive and in-hospital clinicians are already good at endotracheal intubation, with a 95% success rate.

The Air Ambulance and Pre-hospital Care Day represented a fraction of the packed programme of presentations on offer at this year’s London Trauma Conference. The invited speakers had a truly international breadth, offering an unparalleled excellence in the level of learning on offer. It is therefore with great anticipation that we look forward to the London Trauma Conference 2016.

Taken from Journal of Paramedic Practice, published 8 January 2016.