RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Algorithms to guide ambulance clinicians in the management of emergencies in patients with implanted rotary left ventricular assist devices
JF Emergency Medicine Journal
JO Emerg Med J
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and the British Association for Accident & Emergency Medicine
SP emermed-2016-206172
DO 10.1136/emermed-2016-206172
A1 Christopher T Bowles
A1 Rachel Hards
A1 Neil Wrightson
A1 Paul Lincoln
A1 Shishir Kore
A1 Laura Marley
A1 Jonathan R Dalzell
A1 Binu Raj
A1 Tracey A Baker
A1 Diane Goodwin
A1 Petra Carroll
A1 Jane Pateman
A1 John J M Black
A1 Paul Kattenhorn
A1 Mark Faulkner
A1 Jayan Parameshwar
A1 Charles Butcher
A1 Mark Mason
A1 Alexander Rosenberg
A1 Ian McGovern
A1 Alexander Weymann
A1 Carl Gwinnutt
A1 Nicholas R Banner
A1 Stephan Schueler
A1 Andre R Simon
A1 David W Pitcher
YR 2017
UL http://emj.bmj.com/content/early/2017/11/10/emermed-2016-206172.abstract
AB Advances in left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy have resulted in increasing numbers of adult LVAD recipients in the community. However, device failure, stroke, bleeding, LVAD thrombosis and systemic infection can be life-threatening emergencies. Currently, four LVAD systems are implanted in six UK transplant centres, each of which provides device-specific information to local emergency services. This has resulted in inconsistent availability and content of information with the risks of delayed or inappropriate decision-making. In order to improve patient safety, a consortium of UK healthcare professionals with expertise in LVADs developed universally applicable prehospital emergency algorithms. Guidance was framed as closely as possible on the standard ABCDE approach to the assessment of critically ill patients.