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Background: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a potentially lethal disease that requires surgical treatment. There are many benign conditions, those that do not require surgical treatment, displaying imaging characteristics that resemble CCA, leading to therapeutic misadventures. This study aimed to evaluate the proportion of benign conditions that underwent hepatic resection for presumed CCA, and explore the differences between the characteristics of these two entities stratified by primary imaging features of the lesions. Methods: This retrospective study ran between January 2004 and December 2011. We reviewed the pathological records of all 1,402 patients who underwent curative-intent hepatic resection for preoperatively diagnosed CCA. All clinical and pathological parameters were analyzed. Results: The proportion of benign conditions that underwent hepatic resection was 3.78% (53/1,402). For mass-forming lesions, CCA was associated with higher age, alkaline phosphatase, tumor markers, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, and mass size. The patients with mass-forming benign conditions were more associated with diabetes mellitus. For lesions with bile duct dilatation, intraductal tumor, including CCA, had higher CA19-9 level and NLR with statistical significance. For cystic lesions, biliary cystic neoplasm had statistical significance in the rate of abdominal pain. Conclusions: The proportion of hepatic resection for benign conditions was quite low. There were many characteristic differences used to differentiate benign mass-forming conditions from CCA, whereas only few markers in the setting of cystic lesions and biliary dilatation. We recommend performing standard hepatic resection in every case, regardless of the type of imaging features, if the lesion has a chance of being CCA.

BACKGROUND: Mechanical chest compression devices play an important role in assisting patients undergoing cardiac arrest. However, this equipment induces an aerosol-generating procedure that could contaminate hospital staff. The development of a remote control system for mechanical chest compression devices may solve the problem; however, there are currently no studies regarding the efficacy of this system. AIM: This study aims to analyze efficacy of remote control systems for mechanical chest compression devices and compare it with non-remote control systems. METHODS: This was an analytical cross-sectional study at Srinagarind Hospital, Thailand. Data were collected in two periods of the study. The first period was between January and December 2021 using a non-remote control system to operate the mechanical chest compression device. The second period was from January to April 2022 and collected data on the use of a remote control system. RESULTS: Sixty-four participants were examined over the 16-month period of the study. A total of 53.1% (n = 34) of participants were male and the mean age of the patients was 52.4 ± 5.1 years old. The number of emergency medical service members (EMS) needed for resuscitation in the remote control group was less than the non-remote control group (3 vs. 5; p = 0.040). The number of emergency department (ED) members needed for resuscitation in the remote control group was four compared with eight in the non-remote control group. CONCLUSIONS: The remote controlled mechanical chest compression device can effectively reduce the number of staff working both in the EMS and in the ED of the hospital, thus reducing exposure and contamination from aerosol-generating procedure. It was also proven accurate in terms of rate and depth of chest compression according to resuscitation guidelines.

Introduction:Prehospital ultrasounds can be considered a new form of diagnostic tool when taking into account their small structure and due to the fact that nowadays, they are used in the care of emergency patients. However, at present, there is no study regarding the advantage of ultrasound usage in prehospital settings in Thailand.Study Objective:This study aims to determine the sonographic characteristics recorded by handheld ultrasounds used in prehospital care and the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasounds for prehospital patients.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted on prehospital patients who underwent point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) examination on Emergency Medical Service (EMS) operations at Srinagarind Hospital, Thailand from January 2021 through December 2021. The ultrasound images, the electronic emergency department medical records, and the EMS database were recorded and reviewed by a team of emergency physicians. The quality of prehospital ultrasound examinations was assessed by comparing the diagnoses at the scene with those taken at the hospital.Results:One hundred sixty-nine prehospital patients who received POCUS examinations were examined over a one-year period. All (100.0%) of the scans were for medical cases. No ultrasound protocol was used in the prehospital care. Two hundred eight POCUS examinations were performed in this study. The most common POCUS indication was dyspnea (45.6%), followed by hypotension/shock (30.1%), and finally syncope (8.2%). The most common area where POCUS was performed was on the lung (37.0%), followed by the inferior vena cava (30.8%), and finally for cardiac cases (26.4%). This study found that 34.9% of sonographic findings could be considered abnormal. The diagnoses of prehospital patients were confirmed by using POCUS in 66 cases (39.1%) with the accuracy of prehospital diagnosis reaching a peak of 75.8%.Conclusion:This study shows POCUS examinations can be effectively used in prehospital care. The prehospital diagnosis given by physicians administering treatment who used POCUS examinations correlated with the in-hospital diagnosis.

Kamonwon Ienghong,1 Lap Woon Cheung,2,3 Somsak Tiamkao,4 Vajarabhongsa Bhudhisawasdi,1 Korakot Apiratwarakul1 1Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand; 2Accident & Emergency Department, Princess Margaret Hospital, Kowloon, Hong Kong; 3Emergency Medicine Unit, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong; 4Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, ThailandCorrespondence: Korakot Apiratwarakul, Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, 123 Mittraphap Road, Mueang Khon Kaen District, Khon Kaen, 40002, Thailand, Tel +66 89 416 3663, Fax +66 43 366 870, Email Korakot@kku.ac.thPurpose: Globally, emergency departments (ED) are faced with an overcrowding problem. This issue is further compounded due to the multitude of contributing factors. Point of Care ultrasound (POCUS), especially when performed in prehospital care, that is before the patient is admitted to the ED has a high potential to reduce time of diagnosis and time of investigation which leads to shorter ED length of stay (LOS). The primary focus was on variances in ED LOS between the prehospital POCUS group and the standard care group.Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on prehospital patients who were admitted to the ED at Srinagarind Hospital, Thailand, from January to December 2021. We divided patients into two groups including patients who obtained prehospital POCUS (the prehospital POCUS group) and patients who received standard care treatment in which there was no prehospital POCUS performed (the standard care group). POCUS and ED medical records were documented and submitted for analysis.Results: Of 1348 prehospital patients, 840 were enrolled in this study: 169 with prehospital POCUS and 671 with standard care. Median LOS in the prehospital POCUS group was 159 min (IQR 89,289) versus 165 (IQR 102,330) in the standard care group (p = 0.125). Further imaging diagnostic test which affected ED LOS more than four hours was lower in the prehospital POCUS group (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.92; 95% confidence intervals [CI], 0.729– 1.666) than in the standard care group. The factor associated with increased odds of ED LOS more than four hour in the prehospital POCUS group was admission to hospital (adjusted OR 1.88; 95% CI, 1.230-2.239).Conclusion: Patients evaluated with prehospital POCUS had a shorter LOS than the only standard care treatment without statistical significance.Keywords: ultrasonography, prehospital emergency care, length of stay, emergency departments, crowding

BACKGROUND: Rising death tolls from traffic accidents are quickly becoming an inescapable problem in almost all countries around the world. That being said, the World Health Organization has launched an ambitious campaign aimed at reducing the death rate from traffic accidents by 50% in the next 10 years. Development of emergency medical services (EMSs) was the tool to success the goals, especially in low- to middle-income countries including Laos. However, no studies regard perspective of training EMS in Laos emergency medicine residents. AIM: The aim of our work is to demonstrate the effect of EMS training for Laos emergency medicine residents to the development of the national policy in Lao’s EMS. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two countries (Laos and Thailand) from January 2020. The project activities were establishment of a command-and-control center, development of EMS support system, and training for emergency care professionals. RESULTS: The eight Laos emergency medicine residents were enrolled between January and March 2020. After practicing as a dispatcher and emergency medical consultant in Thailand at Khon Kaen University, the participants from Laos found that all personnel gained experience and improved their knowledge of technology in EMS and organization management. This had a direct impact on improving confidence in their return to practice in Laos. CONCLUSIONS: The human resource development through international collaboration between Thailand and Laos is contributing the effective knowledge and expertise learning in Laos. Moreover, the result of this training may provide the most effective care system resulting in the much-needed drop in the mortality rate of traffic accidents in Laos.

The administration of an accurate and effective POCUS course is a crucial tool in improving health education and thus the health care system in low- to middle-income countries. The development of the ultrasound curriculum in these countries during the pandemic era is a major challenge for medical educators. Therefore, this study aims to survey the learner experience after implementing the POCUS curriculum for first-year emergency medicine residents. All learners responded to the survey. Our results demonstrated that the ultrasound rotation and our ultra-sound learning materials were useful tools which showed a positive impact on POCUS knowledge for our learners. However, some obstacles of POCUS learning were identified to assist in closing faculty development gaps, including the availability of handheld devices, as well as the re-modeling of the ultrasound rotation course, which should be managed according to the feedback we received. This study demonstrated a clear need for constant updates in higher education, medical program development, accuracy of local learning materials, and the explosion of virtual and online learning platforms during this decade.

Introduction:Motorcycles can be considered a new form of smart vehicle when taking into account their small and modern structure and due to the fact that nowadays, they are used in the new role of ambulance to rapidly reach emergency patients in large cities with traffic congestion. However, there is no study regarding the measuring of access time for motorcycle ambulances (motorlances) in large cities of Thailand.Study Objective:This study aims to compare access times to patients between motorlances and conventional ambulances, including analysis of the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) installed on motorlances to contribute to the sustainable development of public health policies.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted on all motorlance operations in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) at Srinagarind Hospital, Thailand from January 2019 through December 2020. Data were recorded using a national standard operation record form for Thailand.Results:Two hundred seventy-one motorlance operations were examined over a two-year period. A total of 52.4% (N = 142) of the patients were male. The average times from dispatch to vehicle (motorlance and traditional ambulance) being en route (activation time) for motorlance and ambulance in afternoon shift were 0.59 minutes and 1.45 minutes, respectively (P = .004). The average motorlance response time in the afternoon shift was 6.12 minutes, and ambulance response time was 9.10 minutes at the same shift. Almost all of the motorlance operations (97.8%) were found to have no access to AED equipment installed in public areas. The average time from dispatch to AED arrival on scene (AED access time) was 5.02 minutes.Conclusion:The response time of motorlances was shorter than a conventional ambulance, and the use of AEDs on a motorlance can increase the chances of survival for patients with cardiac arrest outside the hospital in public places where AEDs are not available.