National Trial Underway to Settle Airway Management Debate in Traumas

Source: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC will lead nearly two dozen emergency medical service (EMS) agencies across the country in a Department of Defense (DOD)-funded clinical trial aimed at improving survival among people who have difficulty breathing after a trauma. SEE VIDEO >> The Prehospital Airway Control Trial (PACT) is an $8.8 million, four-year study, beginning at the end of 2019 that will test different strategies to help patients breathe at the scene of a trauma, to see if one works better than another at increasing survival. It is an “exception from informed consent” trial, meaning that, since the trial requires performing a potentially life-saving procedure in people who are too injured to give permission, patients who need help breathing will be enrolled. Patients will be asked for their permission for further participation once they or their family members are able to consent. “Currently, there are two common strategies that EMS personnel use to secure a person’s airway—and both have advantages and disadvantages, so there is great debate as to which to use,” said PACT co-principal investigator Jason Sperry, M.D., M.P.H., UPMC trauma surgeon and section chief of trauma surgery. “What we’re trying to find out with PACT is if we can give emergency responders guidelines for which strategy to try first or what to use in diff...
Source: JEMS: Journal of Emergency Medical Services News - Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Airway & Respiratory News Patient Care Source Type: news