We found significantly shorter time from contact to triaging neurologist to arrival in the regional stroke centre if stroke patients were transported by primarily dispatched ground ambulance compared with a secondarily dispatched helicopter.
| Description of the conditionCritically ill children and adults are at risk of stress-related gastrointestinal (GI) mucosal damage. 1-3 This damage may progress into GI ulcerations, which in adults have been reported to increase morbidity and mortality. 4 Through the last 25 years the incidence of stressrelated GI ulcerations has dropped with present incidences in adult intensive care unit (ICU) patients in the area of 2%-5%. 5-7 The reported incidence of GI ulcerations in pediatric ICU (PICU) patients ranges from 0.4% to 5%, 1,8-11 with likely even higher incidences in neonatal ICUs (NICUs). 12 Suggested risk factors for the development of GI bleeding in the PICU and NICU include mechanical ventilation and coagulopathy. 8,10,12 Furthermore, a correlation between the severity of illness and upper GI bleeding events in children has been proposed. 13
| Description of the interventionIn order to prevent the potential progression from stress-related mucosal damage to GI bleeding, stress ulcer prophylaxis (SUP) was introduced more than four decades ago. 14 Initially, antacids and later sucralfate were the preferred agents. The introduction of histamine-2-receptor antagonists (H2RAs) made intravenous administration possible, and a randomized clinical trial (RCT) in adult ICU patients reported a lower incidence of GI bleeding
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