This article is an example of Lessons from the Field highlighting the practical implementation of a novel time‐controlled mechanism in the gamification of emergency department evacuation training via ...tabletop exercise. Tabletop exercise is one of the most common drill types for disaster preparedness. It is easy to use, effective, and low in cost, but it has some shortcomings. For example, its lack of authenticity is often criticized. We add a time‐control mechanism to the tabletop exercise and use settings similar to real events in an attempt to increase the authenticity of the tabletop exercise and the learning effect. We completed a 3‐h tabletop gamification of emergency room evacuation, which included a time control mechanism. Medical staff in our emergency department were asked to join this tabletop training. We evaluated the effectiveness of the time‐control tabletop exercise through the results of the pretest and posttests and feedback from the participants. A total of 97 emergency medical staff from the Emergency Department of Cheng Kung University Hospital, including 64 nurses, 29 emergency doctors and four nurse practitioners, participated in this tabletop exercise. After experiencing the time‐control tabletop exercise, the participants significantly improved their approach to mass casualty incidents, their method for evacuating patients, and their triage skills. The correct answer rate for the pretest and post‐test rose from 68.75% to 94.33% with statistically significant. The feedback from the participants also showed that the time‐control tabletop exercise was interesting and could increase learning motivation. The time‐control mechanism had a positive impact on the learning effect. It increased the reality of tabletop exercises, promoted participants' learning motivation, and improved their performance on the test.
Taiwan is geographically located in a zone that is vulnerable to earthquakes, typhoons, floods, and landslide hazards and has experienced various disasters. Six Regional Emergency Medical Operation ...Centers (REMOCs) are integrated and administered by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) to be responsible for emergency situations during disastrous events, such as the emission of chemical toxicants, traffic accidents, industrial materials containment, and typhoons.
To analyze events reported by the six REMOCs during the 2014 to 2018 for the government policy reference.
Data were collected from injured and death toll reports provided by local designated hospitals in the emergency medical reporting system. Disaster events were categorized into three categories: natural disaster (NDs), disasters associated with technology (DTs), and disasters associated with security/violence/others (DSVOs). The three categories were further subdivided into sub-categories. Variables considered for trend analyses included the number of wounded and deaths, event characteristics, date/time, and triage. The frequency of disaster events among the six REMOCs was compared using the chi-square test. We used the global information system (GIS) to describe the distribution of events in Taiwan metropolitan cities. The α-level was set at 0.05.
Of 580 events during the study period, the distribution of disaster characteristics in the jurisdictions of the six REMOCs were different. The majority of disaster events were DTs (64.5%), followed by NDs (24.5%) and DSVOs (11.0%). Events for the three disaster categories in the six REMOCs were different (χ2-test, p < 0.001). Furthermore, for the Taipei branch (Northern Taiwan), other NDs, especially heatwaves and cold spells, were most reported in New Taipei City (92.2%) and showed an increasing annual trend; for the Kaohsiung branch (Southern Taiwan), DT events were the most reported, especially in Kaohsiung City; and for the Taichung branch (Central Taiwan), DSVOs were the most reported, especially in Taichung City.
Our data revealed that extreme weather precautions reported in the Taipei branch were increasing. Disaster characteristics were different in each metropolitan city. Upgrading the ability to respond to natural disasters is ineluctable.
•The distribution of disaster characteristics in the jurisdictions of the six REMOCs in Taiwan were different.•The majority of disaster events were DTs, NDs and DSVOs, in which the six REMOCs were different significantly.•In the Taipei branch (Northern Taiwan), heatwaves and cold spells were reported increasing annually.•In the Taichung branch (Central Taiwan), DSVOs were the most reported in Taichung City.•In the Kaohsiung branch (Southern Taiwan), DT events were the most reported in Kaohsiung City.
Background An unscheduled return visit (URV) to the emergency department (ED) within 72-h is an indicator of ED performance. An unscheduled return revisit (URV) within 72-h was used to monitor ...adverse events and medical errors in a hospital quality improvement program. The study explores the potential factors that contribute to URV to the ED within 72-h and the unscheduled return revisit admission (URVA) in adults below 50 years old. Methods The case-control study enrolled 9483 URV patients during 2015-2020 in National Cheng-Kung University Hospital. URVA and URV non-admission (URVNA) patients were analyzed. The Gini impurity index was calculated by decision tree (DT) to split the variables capable of partitioning the groups into URVA and URVNA. Logistic regression is applied to calculate the odds ratio (OR) of candidate variables. The alpha level was set at 0.05. Results Among patients under the age of 50, the percentage of females in URVNA was 55.05%, while in URVA it was 53.25%. Furthermore, the average age of URVA patients was 38.20 + or - 8.10, which is higher than the average age of 35.19 + or - 8.65 observed in URVNA. The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) of the URVA patients (1.59 + or - 1.00) was significantly higher than that of the URVNA patients (1.22 + or - 0.64). The diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of the URVA patients was 85.29 + or - 16.22, which was lower than that of the URVNA (82.89 + or - 17.29). Severe triage of URVA patients is 21.1%, which is higher than the 9.7% of URVNA patients. The decision tree suggests that the factors associated with URVA are "severe triage," "CCI higher than 2," "DBP less than 86.5 mmHg," and "age older than 34 years". These risk factors were verified by logistic regression and the OR of CCI was 2.42 (1.50-3.90), the OR of age was 1.84 (1.50-2.27), the OR of DBP less than 86.5 was 0.71 (0.58-0.86), and the OR of severe triage was 2.35 (1.83-3.03). Conclusions The results provide physicians with a reference for discharging patients and could help ED physicians reduce the cognitive burden associated with the diagnostic errors and stress. Keywords: Charlson comorbidity index, Emergency department, Unscheduled revisit, Admission
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and activin A are both overexpressed in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). We evaluated their clinical correlation and activin A-mediated EGFR ...regulation in this study. Overexpression of both transcripts/proteins indicated a poorer prognosis in OSCC patients. Knockdown of endogenous INHBA repressed the expression of EGFR and inhibited activin A-mediated canonical Smads, noncanonical phosphorylation of AKT (ser473) (p-AKT ser473) and SP1. Inhibition of PI3K signaling via its inhibitor attenuated p-AKT ser473 and in turn reduced SP1 and EGFR expression in the presence of recombinant activin A (rActivin A) in OSCC cells, as revealed via a luciferase assay and western blotting. However, canonical Smad signaling repressed the EGFR promoter, as revealed by a luciferase assay. The transcription factor SP1, its coactivator CBP/p300, and Smad proteins were recruited to the EGFR proximal promoter following rActivin A treatment, as revealed by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). Smad2/3/4 dramatically outcompeted SP1 binding to the EGFR proximal promoter following mithramycin A treatment. Activin A activates the PI3K and Smad pathways to compete for binding to overlapping SP1 consensus sequences on the EGFR proximal promoter. Nevertheless, canonical p-Smad2 was largely repressed in OSCC tumor tissues, suggesting that the activin A-mediated noncanonical pathway is essential for the carcinogenesis of OSCC.
Guidelines for infant CPR recommend the two-thumb encircling hands technique (TTT) and the two-finger technique (TFT) for chest compression. Some devices have been designed to assist with infant CPR, ...but are often not readily available. Syringe plungers may serve as an alternative infant CPR assist device given their availability in most hospitals. In this study, we aimed to determine whether CPR using a syringe plunger could improve CPR quality measurements on the Resusci-Baby manikin compared with traditional methods of infant CPR.
Compression area with a diameter of 1 to 2 cm is recommended in previous infant CPR device researches. In this is a randomized crossover manikin study, we examined the efficacy of the Syringe Plunger Technique (SPT) which uses the plunger of the 20 ml syringe with a 2 cm diameter flat piston, commonly available in hospital, for infant External Chest Compressions (ECC). Participants performed TTT, TFT and SPT ECC on Resusci® Baby QCPR® according to 2020 BLS guidelines.
Sixty healthcare providers participated in this project. The median (IQR) ECC depths in the TTT, TFT and SPT in the first minute were 41 mm (40–42), 40 mm (38–41) and 40 mm (39–41), respectively, with p < 0.001. The median (IQR) ECC recoil in the TTT, TFT and SPT groups in the first minute was 15% (1–93), 64% (18–96) and 53% (8–95), respectively, with p = 0.003. The result in the second minute had similar findings. The SPT had the best QCPR score and less fatigue.
The performance of chest compression depth and re-rebound ratio was statistically different among the three groups. TTT has good ECC depth and depth accuracy but poor recoil. TFT is the complete opposite. SPT can achieve a depth close to TTT and has a good recoil performance as TFT. Regarding comprehensive performance, SPT obtains the highest QCPR score, and SPT is also less fatigued. SPT may be an effective alternative technique for infant CPR.
We investigated the biomechanics of four external chest compression (ECC) approaches involving different sides of approach and hand placement during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
A total of 60 ...participants (30 women and 30 men) with CPR certification performed standard continuous 2-min ECC on a Resusci Anne manikin with real-time feedback in four scenarios: rescuer at the manikin's right side with right hand chest contact (RsRc), rescuer at the manikin's right side with left hand chest contact (RsLc), rescuer at the manikin's left side with left hand chest contact (LsLc), and rescuer at the manikin's left side with right hand chest contact (LsRc). Pressure distribution maps of the palm, peak compression pressure, and compression forces were analysed.
The participants' mean age, height, and weight was 24.8 ± 4.8 years, 165.8 ± 8.7 cm, and 62.7 ± 13.5 kg, respectively. Of the participants, 58 and 2 were right- and left-handed, respectively. Significant between-scenario differences were observed in ulnar-side palm pressure. Ulnar–radial pressure differences were higher in the LsLc and RsRc groups than in the LsRc and RsLc groups (0.69 ± 0.62 and 0.73 ± 050 kg/cm2 vs. 0.49 ± 0.49 and 0.50 ± 0.59 kg/cm2; respectively; p < 0.05). Ulnar–radial force differences were higher in the LsLc and RsRs groups than in the sLsLc and RsRs groups.
The higher differences in pressure and force under the LsLc and RsRc approaches may lead to higher risks of potential injury. When performing standard-quality ECC, the LsRc and RsLc approaches, in which compression pressure and force are better distributed, may be more suitable than RsRc or LsLc.
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