Study Objective Field triage guidelines recommend EMS providers consider transport of head injured older adults with anticoagulation use to trauma centers. However the triage patterns and the incidence of intracranial hemorrhage or neurosurgery in these patients are unknown. Our objective was to describe the characteristics and outcomes of older adults with head trauma transported by EMS, particularly in patients that do not meet physiological, anatomical, or mechanism of injury (Step 1-3) field triage criteria but are taking anticoagulant or antiplatelet medications. Methods This was a retrospective study at 5 EMS agencies and 11 hospitals (4 trauma centers, 7 non-trauma centers). Patients ≥55 years with head trauma who were transported by EMS were included. The primary outcome was the presence of intracranial hemorrhage. The secondary outcome was a composite measure of in-hospital death or neurosurgery. Results 2110 patients were included; 131 (6%) had intracranial hemorrhage and 41 (2%) had in-hospital death or neurosurgery. There were 162 patients (8%) with Step 1-3 criteria. Of the remaining 1948 patients without Step 1-3 criteria, 566 (29%) had anticoagulant or antiplatelet use. Of these patients, 52 (9%) had traumatic intracranial hemorrhage and 15 (3%) died or had neurosurgery. The sensitivity of Step 1-3 criteria was 19.8% (26/131; 95% CI 5.5-51.2%) for identifying traumatic intracranial hemorrhage and 34.1% (14/41; 95% CI 28.9-90.1%) for death or neurosurgery. The additional criterion of anticoagulant or antiplatelet use improved the sensitivity for intracranial hemorrhage (78/131; 59.5%, 95% 42.9-74.2%) and death or neurosurgery (29/41; 70.7%, 95% CI 61.0-78.9%). Conclusions Relatively few patients met Step 1-3 triage criteria. In those who did not have Step 1-3 criteria, nearly 30% had anticoagulant or antiplatelet use. A relatively high proportion of these patients had intracranial hemorrhage but a much smaller proportion died or had neurosurgery during hospitalization. Use of Step 1-3 triage criteria alone is not sufficient in identifying intracranial hemorrhage and death or neurosurgery in this patient population. The additional criterion of anticoagulant or antiplatelet use improves the sensitivity of the instrument with only a modest decrease in specificity.

Field triage guidelines recommend transport of head-injured patients on anticoagulants or antiplatelets to a higher-level trauma center based on studies suggesting a high incidence of traumatic intracranial hemorrhage (tICH). We compared the incidence of tICH in older adults transported by EMS with and without anticoagulation or antiplatelet use and evaluated the accuracies of different sets of field triage criteria to identify tICH. This was a prospective, observational study at 5 EMS agencies and 11 hospitals. Older adults (≥55 years) with head trauma and transported by EMS from Aug 2015 to Sept 2016 were eligible. EMS providers completed standardized data forms and patients were followed through ED or hospital discharge. We enrolled 1,304 patients; 1147 (88%) received a cranial CT scan and were eligible for analysis. 434 (33%) patients had anticoagulant or antiplatelet use and 112 (10%) had tICH. The incidence of tICH in patients with (11%, 95%CI 8-14%) and without (9%, 95%CI 7-11%) anticoagulant or antiplatelet use was similar. Anticoagulant or antiplatelet use was not predictive of tICH on adjusted analysis. Steps 1-3 criteria alone were not sensitive in identifying tICH (27%) while the addition of anticoagulant or antiplatelet criterion improved sensitivity (63%). Other derived sets of triage criteria were highly sensitive (>98%) but poorly specific (<11%). The incidence of tICH was similar between patients with and without anticoagulant or antiplatelet use. Use of anticoagulant or antiplatelet medications was not a risk factor for tICH. We were unable to identify a set of triage criteria that was accurate for trauma center need.

Objective Prehospital provider assessment of the use of anticoagulant or antiplatelet medications in older adults with head trauma is important. These patients are at increased risk for traumatic intracranial hemorrhage and therefore field triage guidelines recommend transporting these patients to centers capable of rapid evaluation and treatment. Our objective was to evaluate EMS ascertainment of anticoagulant and antiplatelet medication use in older adults with head trauma. Methods A retrospective study of older adults with head trauma was conducted throughout Sacramento County. All 5 transporting EMS agencies and all 11 hospitals in the county were included in the study, which ran from January 2012 to December 2012. Patients ≥55 years who were transported to a hospital by EMS after head trauma were included. We excluded patients transferred between two facilities, patients with penetrating head trauma, prisoners, and patients with unmatched hospital data. Anticoagulant and antiplatelet use were categorized as: warfarin, direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC; dabigatran, rivaroxaban, and apixaban), aspirin, and other antiplatelet agents (e.g., clopidogrel, ticagrelor). We calculated the percent agreement and kappa statistic for binary variables between EMS and emergency department (ED)/hospital providers. A kappa statistic ≥0.60 was considered acceptable agreement. Results After excluding 174 (7.6%) patients, 2,110 patients were included for analysis; median age was 73 years (interquartile range 62–85 years) and 1,259 (60%) were male. Per ED/hospital providers, the use of any anticoagulant or antiplatelet agent was identified in 595 (28.2%) patients. Kappa statistics between EMS and ED/hospital providers for the specific agents were: 0.76 (95% CI 0.71–0.82) for warfarin, 0.45 (95% CI 0.19–0.71) for DOAC agents, 0.33 (95% CI 0.28–0.39) for aspirin, and 0.51 (95% CI 0.42–0.60) for other antiplatelet agents. Conclusions The use of antiplatelet or anticoagulant medications in older adults who are transported by EMS for head trauma is common. EMS and ED/hospital providers have acceptable agreement with preinjury warfarin use but not with DOAC, aspirin, and other antiplatelet use.

Objective It is unclear whether trauma center care is associated with improved outcomes in older adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI) compared to management at nontrauma centers. Our primary objectives were to describe the long‐term outcomes of older adults with TBI and to evaluate the association of trauma center transport with long‐term functional outcome. Methods This was a prospective, observational study at five emergency medical services (EMS) agencies and 11 hospitals representing all 9‐1‐1 transfers within a county. Older adults (≥55 years) with TBI (defined as closed head injury associated with loss of consciousness and/or amnesia, abnormal Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] score, or traumatic intracranial hemorrhage) and transported by EMS from August 2015 to September 2016 were eligible. EMS providers completed standardized data forms and emergency department (ED) and hospital data were abstracted. Functional outcomes were measured using the Extended Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS‐E) at 3‐ and 6‐month intervals by telephone follow‐up. Reasons for disabilities were coded as due to head injury, due to illness or injury to other part of body, or due to a mixture of both. To evaluate the association of trauma center transport and functional outcomes, we conducted multivariate ordinal logistic regression analyses on multiple imputed data for 1) all patients with TBI and 2) patients with traumatic intracranial hemorrhage. Results We enrolled 350 patients with TBI; the median (Q1, Q3) age was 70 (61, 84) years, 187 (53%) were male, and 91 patients (26%) had traumatic intracranial hemorrhage on initial ED cranial computed tomography (CT) imaging. A total of 257 patients (73%) were transported by EMS to a Level I or II trauma center. Sixty‐nine patients (20%) did not complete follow‐up at 3 or 6 months. Of the patients with follow‐up, 119 of 260 patients (46%) had moderate disability or worse at 6 months, including 55 of 260 patients (21%) who were dead at 6‐month follow‐up. Death or severe disabilities were more commonly attributed to non‐TBI causes while moderate disabilities or better were more commonly due to TBI. On adjusted analysis, an abnormal GCS score, higher Charlson Comorbidity Index scores, and the presence of traumatic intracranial hemorrhage on initial ED cranial imaging were associated with worse GOS‐E scores at 6 months. Trauma center transport was not associated with GOS‐E scores at 6 months for TBI patients and in patients with traumatic intracranial hemorrhage on initial ED CT imaging. Conclusions In older adults with TBI, moderate disability or worse is common 6 months after injury. Over one in five of older adults with TBI died by 6 months, usually due to nonhead causes. Patients with TBI or traumatic intracranial hemorrhage did not have improved functional outcomes with initial triage to a trauma center.

This novel CVVHF-citrate system achieved excellent clearance and dramatically improved filter patency compared to saline-flush systems. Moreover, it did so with minimal toxicity.