Impact of prehospital trauma life support (PHTLS) training of ambulance caregivers on the outcome of traffic injury victims – a nation-wide study.

• Background: Prehospital trauma life support (PHTLS) is a widely implemented educational program for prehospital trauma care. Evidence for improved patient outcome is, however, limited. The primary aim of this nation-wide study was to investigate the association between regional implementation of PHTLS training and mortality after traffic injuries.Methods: We extracted from the Swedish National Patient Registry and the Cause of Death Registry information on victims of motor vehicle traffic injuries in Sweden from 2001 to 2004 (n=28 041). During this time period, PHTLS training was implemented at a varying pace in different regions. We used a Bayesian approach with Markov chain Monte Carlo to estimate odds ratios (OR) for prehospital and 30-day mortality. We entered region and hospital into hierarchical models and controlled for the calendar year for each injury. We analyzed the time to death and time to return to work using Cox’s proportional hazards frailty models.Results: A total of 1395 individuals died before being admitted to hospital. After multivariable adjustment, the OR for prehospital mortality with PHTLS-trained prehospital staff was 1.11 (95% credibility interval, 0.88 to 1.38). For 30-day mortality (365 deaths), the adjusted OR was 0.80 (95% credibility interval, 0.53 to 1.17). There was no association between PHTLS training and time to death (hazard ratio 0.99; 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 1.14) or time to return to work (hazard ratio 0.98, 95% confidence interval, 0.92 to 1.05).Conclusion: The implementation of PHTLS training did not appear to reduce mortality or disability after motor vehicle traffic injuries. . 

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Anestesi och intensivvård (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Anesthesiology and Intensive Care (hsv//eng)

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