Is the revised trauma score still useful?
- Authors: Gabbe, Belinda , Cameron, Peter , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2003
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: ANZ Journal of Surgery Vol. 73, no. 11 (2003), p. 944-948
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: The revised trauma score (RTS) has been embraced by the trauma community worldwide. Although originally developed as a triage tool, the use of the RTS has since been expanded to include the prediction of outcome following traumatic injury. Through a critical review of the literature, evidence for use of the RTS is discussed along with the limitations of this commonly used tool. In summary, the RTS is a well-established predictor of mortality in trauma populations, but there is a lack of definitive evidence supporting its use as a primary triage tool and as a predictor of outcomes other than mortality. Difficulty in collecting the components of the RTS creates issues for data validity and the use of the RTS as a research tool. Although the weighted RTS has been developed to improve the prediction capacity of the RTS, studies reporting its use are few and there is debate regarding the applicability of the published coefficients for broad use. Overall, further studies are warranted to clearly establish the usefulness of the RTS as a triage tool in the field, to further evaluate the weighted version of the RTS, and to determine the ability of the RTS to predict functional outcome and quality of life. In particular, future research is needed to address these issues in Australian trauma populations.
- Description: 2003005273
Developing Australia's first statewide trauma registry : What are the lessons?
- Authors: Cameron, Peter , Finch, Caroline , Gabbe, Belinda , Collins, Lisa , Smith, Karen , McNeil, John
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: ANZ Journal of Surgery Vol. 74, no. 6 (2004), p. 424-428
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Trauma registries, like disease registries, provide an important analysis tool to assess the management of patient care. Trauma registries are well established and relatively common in the USA and have been used to change legislation, promote trauma prevention and to evaluate trauma system effectiveness. In Australia, the first truly statewide trauma registry was established in Victoria in 2001 with an estimated capture of 1700 major trauma cases annually. The Victorian State Trauma Registry, managed by the Victorian State Trauma Outcomes Registry and Monitoring (VSTORM) group, was established in response to a ministerial review of trauma and emergency services undertaken in 1997 to advise the Victorian Government on a best practice model of trauma service provision that was responsive to the particular needs of critically ill trauma patients. This taskforce recommended the establishment of a new system of care for major trauma patients in Victoria and a statewide trauma registry to monitor this new system. The development of the Victorian state trauma registry has shown that there are certain issues that must be resolved for successful implementation of any system-wide registry. This paper describes the issues faced by VSTORM in developing, implementing and maintaining a statewide trauma registry.
- Description: 2003005108
The Trauma Registry as a statewide quality improvement tool
- Authors: Cameron, Peter , Gabbe, Belinda , McNeil, John , Finch, Caroline , Smith, Karen , Cooper, James , Judson, Rodney , Kossmann, Thomas
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: The Journal of Trauma Vol. 59, no. 6 (2005), p. 1469-1476
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Trauma registries have been developed to describe the pattern of trauma and trauma workload, provide data for research, and to demonstrate changes in patient outcomes. Quality improvement using trauma registries at a systemwide level has been difficult to achieve. In Victoria, Australia, a statewide trauma system and trauma registry has been established to monitor and feedback the process of management and outcomes of major trauma patients across all healthcare providers. Methods: The development and implementation of the Victorian State Trauma Registry (VSTR), including its role as a quality monitoring tool and results from the first 2 years of operation, are provided. Results: More than 80% of major trauma patients are being managed at major trauma services and standardized death rates are comparable with international standards. Quality indicators identify some areas for improvement. Conclusion: VSTR data indicate that the statewide trauma system is working well and provides a method for ongoing monitoring and trauma care feedback. (C) 2005 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.
Priorities for reducing the burden of injuries in sport : The example of Australian football
- Authors: Gabbe, Belinda , Finch, Caroline , Cameron, Peter
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Vol. 10, no. 5 (2007), p. 273-276
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: The promotion of safe sports participation has become a public health issue due to rising obesity rates and the potential for parental concerns about safety to inhibit sports participation. The safety of Australian football and its elite game, the Australian Football League (AFL), is often the focus of media commentary. Participation in the modified version of the game (Auskick) has been shown to be safer but by the time children reach the under-15 age group, adult rules are in place and the umbrella of safety provided by modified rules is gone. Figures released recently by the AFL suggest that injury rates at the elite-level are at an historical low, but equivalent information for the more than 400,000 non-elite participants is not available. Published literature related to preventing injuries in Australian football highlights a significant knowledge gap with respect to the aetiology of injuries in non-elite participants and only a very small evidence base for prevention of injuries in this sport. Gains in reducing the public health impact of football injuries, and injury-related barriers to Australian football participation, will only come from substantial investment in large-scale trials at the non-elite level, and a co-ordinated and multidisciplinary approach to dealing with safety and injury issues across all levels of play. Active and committed collaboration of key stakeholders such as government health agencies, peak sports bodies, sports administrators, clinicians, researchers, clubs, coaches and the participants themselves will be necessary. © 2007 Sports Medicine Australia.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003005774
Effect of a mass media campaign on ambulance use for chest pain
- Authors: Nehme, Zlad , Cameron, Peter , Akram, Muhammad , Patsamanis, Harry , Bray, Janet , Meredith, Ian , Smith, Karen
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Medical Journal of Australia Vol. 206, no. 1 (2017), p. 30-35
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objectives: To evaluate the impact of comprehensive public awareness campaigns by the National Heart Foundation of Australia on emergency medical service (EMS) use by people with chest pain. Design, setting and participants: A retrospective analysis of 253 428 emergency ambulance attendances for non-traumatic chest pain in Melbourne, January 2008 e December 2013. Time series analyses, adjusted for underlying trend and seasonal effects, assessed the impact of mass media campaigns on EMS use. Main outcome measure: Monthly ambulance attendances. Results: The median number of monthly ambulance attendances for chest pain was 3609 (IQR, 3011e3891), but was higher in campaign months than in non-campaign months (3880 v 3234, P < 0.001). After adjustments, campaign activity was associated with a 10.7% increase (95% CI, 6.5e14.9%; P < 0.001) in monthly ambulance use for chest pain, and a 15.4% increase (95% CI, 10.1e20.9%; P < 0.001) when the two-month lag periods were included. Clinical presentations for suspected acute coronary syndromes, as determined by paramedics, increased by 11.3% (95% CI, 6.9e15.9%; P < 0.001) during campaigns. Although the number of patients transported to hospital by ambulance increased by 10.0% (95% CI, 6.1e14.2%; P < 0.001) during campaign months, the number of patients not transported to hospital also increased, by 13.9% (95% CI, 8.3e19.8%; P < 0.001). Conclusion: A public awareness campaign about responding to prodromal acute myocardial infarction symptoms was associated with an increase in EMS use by people with chest pain and suspected acute coronary syndromes. Campaign activity may also lead to increased EMS use in low risk populations. © 2017 AMPCo Pty Ltd. Produced with Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.