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Background: Evidence regarding the effect of time to neurosurgical and neuroradiological intervention on outcomes in traumatic brain injury (TBI) across Asia-Pacific region is limited. This study evaluates the quality of care and outcomes for TBI patients undergoing neurosurgical and neuroradiological procedures at different timings. Methods: Adult TBI patients who received any neurosurgical or neuroradiological interventions during the year 2015–2022 in the Pan-Asian Trauma Outcome Study database were analyzed. The time to intervention, as the main exposure, was classified into three groups (Early, Intermediate, and Delayed) using Restricted Cubic Spline (RCS) analysis. The outcomes were in-hospital mortality and unfavorable neurological outcomes. W score was utilized to compare the quality of care among exposure groups. Multivariable logistic regression analysis and interaction analysis were performed to identify the association between the exposure groups and outcomes, reported as adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: A total of 1,780 patients were included. From the RCS analysis, patients were classified into three groups according to time to intervention: Early (< 1.9 h), Intermediate (1.9–4.1 h), and Delayed (> 4.1 h). According to the time to intervention, W score was − 8.6 in the early group, -1.1 in the intermediate group, and + 0.4 in the delayed group. Patients receiving intermediate and delayed intervention showed significantly lower mortality (AOR 0.64, 95% CI 0.47–0.86 and AOR 0.66, 95%CI 0.48–0.90, respectively). Conclusion: Early neurosurgical and neuroradiological interventions in TBI patients in the Asia-Pacific region were associated with lower quality of care and higher mortality. The quality of care should be focused and improved during the early hours of TBI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The initial cardiac rhythm in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) portends different prognoses and affects treatment decisions. Initial shockable rhythms are associated with good survival and neurological outcomes but there is conflicting evidence for those who initially present with non-shockable rhythms. The aim of this study is to evaluate if OHCA with conversion from non-shockable (i.e., asystole and pulseless electrical activity) rhythms to shockable rhythms compared to OHCA remaining in non-shockable rhythms is associated with better survival and neurological outcomes. OHCA cases from the Pan-Asian Resuscitation Outcomes Study registry in 13 countries between January 2009 and February 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Cases with missing initial rhythms, age <18 years, presumed non-medical cause of arrest, and not conveyed by emergency medical services were excluded. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between initial and subsequent shockable rhythm, survival to discharge, and survival with favorable neurological outcomes (cerebral performance category 1 or 2). Of the 116,387 cases included. 11,153 (9.6%) had initial shockable rhythms and 9,765 (8.4%) subsequently converted to shockable rhythms. Japan had the lowest proportion of OHCA patients with initial shockable rhythms (7.3%). For OHCA with initial shockable rhythm, the adjusted odds ratios (aOR) for survival and good neurological outcomes were 8.11 (95% confidence interval [CI] 7.62-8.63) and 15.4 (95%CI 14.1-16.8) respectively. For OHCA that converted from initial non-shockable to shockable rhythms, the aORs for survival and good neurological outcomes were 1.23 (95%CI 1.10-1.37) and 1.61 (95%CI 1.35-1.91) respectively. The aORs for survival and good neurological outcomes were 1.48 (95%CI 1.22-1.79) and 1.92 (95%CI 1.3 − 2.84) respectively for initial asystole, while the aOR for survival in initial pulseless electrical activity patients was 0.83 (95%CI 0.71-0.98). Prehospital adrenaline administration had the highest aOR (2.05, 95%CI 1.93-2.18) for conversion to shockable rhythm. In this ambidirectional cohort study, conversion from non-shockable to shockable rhythm was associated with improved survival and neurologic outcomes compared to rhythms that continued to be non-shockable. Continued advanced resuscitation may be beneficial for OHCA with subsequent conversion to shockable rhythms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asia is experiencing a demographic shift toward an aging population at an unrivaled rate. This can influence the characteristics and outcomes of trauma. We aim to examine different characteristics of older adult trauma patients compared to younger adult trauma patients and describe factors that affect the outcomes in Asian countries. This is a retrospective, international, multicenter study of trauma across participating centers in the Pan Asian Trauma Outcome Study (PATOS) registry, which included trauma cases aged ≥18 years, brought to the emergency department (ED) by emergency medical services (EMS) from October 2015 to November 2018. Data of older adults (≥65 years) and younger adults (<65 years) were analyzed and compared. The primary outcome measure was in-hospital mortality, and secondary outcomes were disability at discharge and hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) length of stays. Of 39,804 trauma patients, 10,770 (27.1%) were older adults. Trauma occurred more among older adult women (54.7% vs 33.2%, p < 0.001). Falls were more frequent in older adults (66.3% vs 24.9%, p < 0.001) who also had higher mean Injury Severity Score (ISS) compared to the younger adult trauma patient (5.4 ± 6.78 vs 4.76 ± 8.60, p < 0.001). Older adult trauma patients had a greater incidence of poor Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) (13.4% vs 4.1%, p < 0.001), higher hospital mortality (1.5% vs 0.9%, p < 0.001) and longer median hospital length of stay (12.8 vs 9.8, p < 0.001). Multiple logistic regression revealed age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.06, 95%CI 1.02–1.04, p < 0.001), male sex (AOR 1.60, 95%CI 1.04–2.46, p = 0.032), head and face injuries (AOR 3.25, 95%CI 2.06–5.11, p < 0.001), abdominal and pelvic injuries (AOR 2.78, 95%CI 1.48–5.23, p = 0.002), cardiovascular (AOR 2.71, 95%CI 1.40–5.22, p = 0.003), pulmonary (AOR 3.13, 95%CI 1.30–7.53, p = 0.011) and cancer (AOR 2.03, 95%CI 1.02–4.06, p = 0.045) comorbidities, severe ISS (AOR 2.06, 95%CI 1.23–3.45, p = 0.006), and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) ≤8 (AOR 12.50, 95%CI 6.95–22.48, p < 0.001) were significant predictors of hospital mortality. Older trauma patients in the Asian region have a higher mortality rate than their younger counterparts, with many significant predictors. These findings illustrate the different characteristics of older trauma patients and their potential to influence the outcome. Preventive measures for elderly trauma should be targeted based on these factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) characteristics of patients stratified by age who had resuscitation attempted and were transported to tertiary emergency medical institutions in Osaka Prefecture, Japan; especially those of advanced age. Methods: A prospective, population‐based, observational review was carried out of consecutive OHCA patients with emergency responder resuscitation attempts from July 2012 to December 2016 in Osaka, Japan. Patients were classified into four groups: (i) 18–64 years; (ii) 65–74 years; (iii) 75–84 years; and (iv) ≥85 years. Patient, event and treatment characteristics were examined for patients with presumed cardiac etiology of OHCA. The primary outcome was the 1‐month survival with a neurologically favorable outcome. Results: A total of 4636 patients with OHCA of presumed cardiac origin were transported to tertiary emergency medical institutions. The number of patients in the four groups was as follows: (i) 1290 (27.8%); (ii) 1102 (23.8%); (iii) 1420 (30.6%); and (iv) 824 (17.8%). The 1‐month survival with a neurologically favorable outcome was: (i) 207 (16.0%); (ii) 96 (8.7%); (iii) 60 (4.2%); and (iv) seven (0.85%). In a multivariate analysis for 1‐month survival with a neurologically favorable outcome, increased age was a significant prognostic factor (≥85 years; adjusted odds ratio 0.08, 95% confidence interval 0.03–0.23) for poor outcomes. Conclusions: In this population, advanced age (≥85 years) was strongly associated with poor outcomes. Further discussion of policies directed at resuscitation of very elderly OHCA patients is required, considering limited medical resources and the rapidly aging population in Japan. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 1088–1095. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Trauma is a major health burden and a time-dependent critical emergency condition among developing and developed countries. In Asia, trauma has become a rapidly expanding epidemic and has spread out to many underdeveloped and developing countries through rapid urbanization and industrialization. Most casualties of severe trauma, which results in significant mortality and disability are assessed and transported by prehospital providers including physicians, professional providers, and volunteer providers. Trauma registries have been developed in mostly developed countries and measure care quality, process, and outcomes. In general, existing registries tend to focus on inhospital care rather than prehospital care. Methods: The Pan-Asia Trauma Outcomes Study (PATOS) was proposed in 2013 and initiated in November, 2015 in order to establish a collaborative standardized study to measure the capabilities, processes and outcomes of trauma care throughout Asia. The PATOS is an international, multicenter, and observational research network to collect trauma cases transported by emergency medical services (EMS) providers. Data are collected from the participating hospital emergency departments in various countries in Asia which receive trauma patients from EMS. Data variables collected include 1) injury epidemiologic factors, 2) EMS factors, 3) emergency department care factors, 4) hospital care factors, and 5) trauma system factors. The authors expect to achieve a sample size of 67,230 cases over the next 2 years of data collection to analyze the association between potential risks and outcomes of trauma. Conclusion: The PATOS network is expected to provide comparison of the trauma EMS systems and to benchmark best practice with participating communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Objective: The study aims to identify modifiable factors associated with improved out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival among communities in the Pan-Asian Resuscitation Outcomes Study (PAROS) Clinical Research Network: Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates (Dubai).Methods: This was a prospective, international, multicenter cohort study of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the Asia-Pacific. Arrests caused by trauma, patients who were not transported by emergency medical services (EMS), and pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases (<18 years) were excluded from the analysis. Modifiable out-of-hospital factors (bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation [CPR] and defibrillation, out-of-hospital defibrillation, advanced airway, and drug administration) were compared for all out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients presenting to EMS and participating hospitals. The primary outcome measure was survival to hospital discharge or 30 days of hospitalization (if not discharged). We used multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression models to identify factors independently associated with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival, accounting for clustering within each community.Results: Of 66,780 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases reported between January 2009 and December 2012, we included 56,765 in the analysis. In the adjusted model, modifiable factors associated with improved out-of-hospital cardiac arrest outcomes included bystander CPR (odds ratio [OR] 1.43; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.31 to 1.55), response time less than or equal to 8 minutes (OR 1.52; 95% CI 1.35 to 1.71), and out-of-hospital defibrillation (OR 2.31; 95% CI 1.96 to 2.72). Out-of-hospital advanced airway (OR 0.73; 95% CI 0.67 to 0.80) was negatively associated with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival.Conclusion: In the PAROS cohort, bystander CPR, out-of-hospital defibrillation, and response time less than or equal to 8 minutes were positively associated with increased out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival, whereas out-of-hospital advanced airway was associated with decreased out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival. Developing EMS systems should focus on basic life support interventions in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest resuscitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]