Advanced prehospital interventions for severe brain injury remains controversial. No previous randomised trial has been conducted to evaluate additional physician intervention compared with paramedic only care.

Treatment of airway compromise in trauma patients is a priority. Basic airway management is provided by all emergency personnel, but the requirement for on-scene advanced airway management is controversial. We attempted to establish the demand for on-scene advanced airway interventions. Trauma patients managed with standard UK paramedic airway interventions were assessed to determine whether airway compromise had been effectively treated or whether more advanced airway management was required. 

Abstract:
We have previously shown that early treatment with fresh frozen plasma (FFP) is neuroprotective in a swine model of hemorrhagic shock (HS) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, it remains unknown whether this strategy would be beneficial in a more clinical polytrauma model. Yorkshire swine (42-50 kg) were instrumented to measure hemodynamic parameters, brain oxygenation, and intracranial pressure (ICP) and subjected to computer-controlled TBI and multi-system trauma (rib fracture, soft-tissue damage, and liver injury) as well as combined free and controlled hemorrhage (40% blood volume). After 2 h of shock (mean arterial pressure, 30-35 mm Hg), animals were resuscitated with normal saline (NS; 3×volume) or FFP (1×volume; n=6/group). Six hours postresuscitation, brains were harvested and lesion size and swelling were evaluated. Levels of endothelial-derived vasodilator endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and vasoconstrictor endothelin-1 (ET-1) were also measured. FFP resuscitation was associated with reduced brain lesion size (1005.8 vs. 2081.9 mm(3); p=0.01) as well as swelling (11.5% vs. 19.4%; p=0.02). Further, FFP-resuscitated animals had higher brain oxygenation as well as cerebral perfusion pressures. Levels of cerebral eNOS were higher in the FFP-treated group (852.9 vs. 816.4 ng/mL; p=0.03), but no differences in brain levels of ET-1 were observed. Early administration of FFP is neuroprotective in a complex, large animal model of polytrauma, hemorrhage, and TBI. This is associated with a favorable brain oxygenation and cerebral perfusion pressure profile as well as higher levels of endothelial-derived vasodilator eNOS, compared to normal saline resuscitation.