BACKGROUND:There have been few reports on the clinical significance of the fibrinogen degradation product (FDP) level in trauma patients with and without head injury. We retrospectively analyzed trauma patients with or without head injury to investigate the clinical significance of the FDP level. METHODS:From April 2013 to June 2015, a medical chart review was retrospectively performed for all patients with trauma. The exclusion criteria included patients who did not receive a transfusion. The patients were divided into two groups:a FDP>100 group, which included patients who had an FDP level on arrival over 100 ng/mL, and a FDP≤100 group. RESULTS:The ratio of open fractures and the prothrombin ratio in the FDP>100 group were significantly smaller than those observed in the FDP≤100 group. The average age, ratio of blunt injury, Injury Severity Score (ISS), volume of transfusion and mortality ratio in the FDP>100 group were significantly greater than those in the FDP≤100 group. There was a weakly positive correlation between the FDP level and ISS (R=0.35, P=0.002), but it was not associated with the transfusion volume. The results of an analysis excluding patients with head injury showed a similar tendency. CONCLUSION:The FDP levels may be a useful biochemical parameter for the initial evaluation of the severity of trauma and mortality even in blunt traumatized patients without head injury or with stable vital signs.

Objective: To elucidate the actual circumstances of damage caused by Japanese Alocasia (A) odora.Materials and Methods: We investigated cases in Japan from our own hospital in the eastern part of Shizuoka Prefecture as well as published reports.Results:A. dorais found in western Japan, and plants of the Alocasia genus are cultivated often. A. odora is frequently associated with food poisoning because its aboveground parts resemble those of Satoimo (Colocasia esculenta). Moreover, A. odora contains insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, which cause poisoning symptoms, such as oral pain, nausea, vomiting, and laryngeal edema, resulting in near asphyxia, diarrhea following shock, and skin dermatitis. Calcium oxalate crystals are abundant in Araceae family plants, and cases of health damage owing to the accidental ingestion of Araceae plants have been reported worldwide.Conclusion: Due to the strong irritation felt in the mouth upon contact with the plant, it is advisable to immediately spit out the plant and rinse the mouth. In addition to drug administration, ensuring a secure airway may be necessary if there is a risk of asphyxiation.

Objective: To demonstrate the use of a portable X-ray system at the scene.Patient: A 59-year-old man collapsed under a small power shovel and was discovered by his colleague. The fire department dispatched an ambulance and requested the dispatch of a doctor helicopter (DH) immediately after receiving the emergency call. When the staff of the DH used a portable X-ray system to assess the patient at the rendezvous point, he was found to have experienced a cardiac arrest with deformity of the face. Portable chest X-ray in the ambulance revealed decreased radiolucency of the lung fields without pneumothorax, and tracheal tube insertion was successful. Portable pelvic X-ray also showed no trauma. Portable cranial X-ray revealed orbital fracture. Although we urgently transported the patient to our hospital by the DH, he unfortunately died of circulatory arrest caused by his severe injuries. Based on the portable X-ray findings obtained at the scene, we suspected that the patient’s cardiac arrest had been caused by severe head and/or neck injuries.Conclusion: This portable X-ray system may be able to change and facilitate the management of patients with trauma dramatically by simplifying prehospital diagnoses even in rural areas.

Objective: No nationwide reports have focused on patients with decompression illness (DCI) transported by doctor helicopter (DH) in Japan. We performed this retrospective study to examine this population using data from the Japan DH registry system (JDRS).Patients and Methods: Patients were initially selected from the JDRS database. They were divided into two groups: those transported by the Eastern Shizuoka DH (ES-DH) and those transported by other DHs. Variables were compared between the two groups.Results: There were 44 patients who had DCI out of 41,592 patients in the JDRS. The majority of cases (70%) were transported by the ES-DH. In the ES-DH group, age, rate of request type using key words, and rate of instrumental intervention to secure an airway were significantly greater, and the median Glasgow Coma Scale score was significantly lower than that of the other DH group. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the rate of cases with fatal outcomes between the two groups.Conclusions: This is the first report regarding the current status of patients with DCI transported by DH in Japan. Most patients were transported by ES-DH to the Izu Peninsula. In addition, the patients transported by ES-DH due to decompression illness tended to be severely ill; however, the outcomes of the ES-DH and other DH groups did not differ to a statistically significant extent and therefore effective recompression therapy could be successfully performed at suitable hospitals owing to timely transportation.

Objective: To investigate the differences between doctor helicopters (DHs) and disaster medical assistance teams (DMATs), based on past examples and the current situation in Shizuoka Prefecture.Materials and Methods: First, we examined cases in Shizuoka Prefecture from 2014 to 2023, wherein incidents involving five or more injured individuals were managed using multiple DHs simultaneously. Next, we investigated the presence of DMATs in Shizuoka Prefecture and assessed their role in disaster responses within the prefecture.Results: Since 2014, there have been eight incidents in Shizuoka Prefecture wherein multiple DHs were deployed to respond to mass casualties. Shizuoka DMATs were placed on standby thrice during the same period, with one active deployment during a disaster caused by a landslide in Atami. The other two cases were managed solely by DHs and ambulance teams.Conclusion: Localized disasters in Shizuoka Prefecture have seen the effective use of multiple DHs for timely patient transportation, particularly when weather conditions were suitable. By contrast, DMATs are primarily deployed for extended medical activities lasting more than one day. This differentiation highlights the importance of choosing an appropriate medical response approach based on the nature and scope of a disaster.

In mass casualty incidents, effective triage, treatment, and transport are critical for efficient management but often deviate from practices and ethical standards. In terms of resource allocation, decentralized transport is the predominant transport method; however, it is not standardized. This report retrospectively analyzed the response to a mass casualty incident at a university emergency center. By centralizing patient transport from the scene, the time to patient transport could be shortened, the burden on the scene related to transport could be reduced, and undertriage at the scene could be avoided. No trauma-related deaths occurred. This case provides a valuable contribution to the understanding of situations in which critical patients may concentrate in emergency centers during future mass-casualty incidents.

Objective: There have been few reports in English medical journals analyzing patients with difficulty moving. Herein, we conducted a retrospective survey of emergency patients admitted to our hospital with the chief complaint of difficulty moving, to clarify the clinical characteristics of the frequency, causative disease, and outcome in these patients.Patients and Methods: Between August 2017 and October 2021, we surveyed the patient database maintained by our department, covering cases in which the main complaint at the time of patient transport by ambulance to our hospital was difficulty moving.Results: In 111 cases, the patient’s primary complaint was difficulty moving or adynamia. Patients included 59 males and 52 females, with a mean age of 76.3 years old. The most frequent diagnosis in these patients was rhabdomyolysis, followed by infection, body temperature abnormalities, electrolyte disorder, blood glucose abnormality, hypoxia, and renal failure. Trauma and various other diseases, such as stroke and malignancy, were also found to be causative diseases. After discharge from the hospital, the number of patients with a dependent status was greater than those with an independent status.Conclusion: Patients with difficulty moving were primarily elderly, and had a variety of causative diseases. Therefore, multiple approaches are required to manage these patients.

Objective: The authors retrospectively investigated prognostic factors for severe isolated head trauma in patients evacuated by a physician-staffed helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) or ground ambulance using data from the Japan Trauma Data Bank (JTDB).Patients and Methods: This study was a retrospective analysis of data housed in the JTDB database. The study period was from January 2004 to May 2019. Subjects were divided into two groups according to the method of transportation: helicopter (i.e., HEMS), which included patients transported by a physician-staffed helicopter; and ambulance, which included patients transported by ground ambulance.Results: A total of 41,358 patients were enrolled in the study, including 2,029 in the helicopter group and 39,329 in the ambulance group. The ratio of males, median head Abbreviated Injury Scale and Injury Severity Scale (ISS) scores were significantly greater in the helicopter group than in the ambulance group, while the average age, median Glasgow Coma Scale, average Revised Trauma Score (RTS), and survival rate were significantly lower in the helicopter group than in the ambulance group. Of the variables that demonstrated statistical significance in the univariate analysis and classification of transportation and included in the multivariate analysis, the following were identified as significant predictors of survival outcomes: younger age, lower ISS, female sex, and greater RTS. HEMS was not a significant predictor of survival.Conclusion: The present study revealed no effect of HEMS transport on the outcomes of patients who experienced severe isolated head trauma compared with ground ambulance transportation. Further prospective studies, including an analysis of the operation time or distance traveled by the HEMS and the functional outcome(s) of patients with severe head injury transported by HEMS, are warranted.

Objective: This study aimed to retrospectively determine which laboratory data on arrival for patients with mamushi bites was useful to predict the severity of mamushi bites.Materials and Methods: The subjects were divided into the following two groups: the mild group included subjects with mamushi bites Grades I and II, while the severe group included subjects with mamushi bites Grades III, IV, and V. The subjects’ variables were compared between the two groups.Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding the levels of hematocrit, total protein, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, creatinine phosphokinase, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, and international normalized ratio of prothrombin time on arrival. Moreover, white blood cell count and platelet count on arrival in the mild group were significantly lower than those in the severe group. Furthermore, activated partial thromboplastin time on arrival was significantly higher in the mild group than in the severe group. Multivariate analysis using white blood cell count and platelet count and level of activated partial thromboplastin time revealed the following significant prognostic indicators of severity of mamushi bites: white blood cell count (Log Worth, 2.1; p<0.01) and platelet count (Log Worth, 1.6; p<0.05).Conclusion: White blood cell count and platelet count on arrival of patients with mamushi bites are considered significant prognostic indicators in determining the severity of mamushi bites.

Objective: We herein report our analysis of patients evacuated by a physician-staffed helicopter (doctor helicopter; DH) from a Japan Self Defense Force (JSDF) base.Methods: From March 2004 to November 2018, a medical chart review was retrospectively performed for all patients who were transported by a DH from the temporary heliport at the JSDF Fuji base. The subjects were divided into two groups: the Before-2013 group (n=6) and the After-2013 group (n=7).Results: The rate of military-patient involvement and the heart rate of the After-2013 group were greater than those of the-Before 2013 group, and the percutaneous oxygen saturation in the After-2013 group was lower than the Before-2013 group. Furthermore, the Glasgow Coma Scale in the After-2013 group was significantly lower than in the Before-2013 group. The survival rate was not significantly different between the two groups.Conclusion: Patients transported by DHs in the After-2013 group tended to be in more severe conditions than those transported in the Before-2013 group. This might be due to the fact that over time, the fire department, or JSDF, began to appreciate the useful role played by the DH in life-saving management.