ALARM is a modular IT-solution to support emergency medical service (EMS) providers and rescue staff in mass casualty incident response and training. Seven modules were implemented, covering the entire process from preliminary triage, treatment support and resource management to tactical information and registration. Communication technology is used to close information and documentation gaps. ...

In MCIs (mass casualty incidents) patient tracking is cumbersome when using paper based approaches. Due to the fact that the spatial positions of the patients are essential in MCIs, we equipped the relief workers with electronic devices. We analyzed two concepts for patient tracking: direct and indirect tracking. The indirect tracking turned out to be superior with regard to the requirements fr...

This report presents results of an evaluation of the Strip Shopping Centre Program that commenced in 2003. It involved the treatment of eighteen strip shopping centres that were identified based on their poor crash history. The purpose of the study was to establish the effectiveness of the program in terms reductions in all types of casualty crashes and casualty crashes involving pedestrians th...

Many of Indiana fire deaths were in homes with non-working smoke alarms Indiana Mortuary Emergency Response Team (I-MERT) and Indiana Disaster Portable Mortuary Unit (I-DPMU) work together in a mass casualty incident that has overwhelmed local resources. But what's the difference between the two? The Indiana Disaster Portable Mortuary Unit (I-DPMU) has an operational team made up of volunteers ...

OBJECTIVES A mass casualty incident (MCI) may strain a health care system beyond surge capacity, affecting patterns of care for casualties and other patients. Prior studies of MCIs have assessed clinical care for casualty patients, but have not examined outcomes or expenditures for noncasualty inpatients in the same time period. METHODS This was a retrospective analysis of administrative hosp...

The risk of radiation exposure, due to accidental or malicious release of ionizing radiation, is a major public health concern. Biomarkers that can rapidly identify severely-irradiated individuals requiring prompt medical treatment in mass-casualty incidents are urgently needed. Stable blood or plasma-based biomarkers are attractive because of the ease for sample collection. We tested the hypot...

The role of point-of-care ultrasound in mass casualty incidents (MCIs) is still evolving. Occasionally, hospitals can be destroyed by disasters resulting in large number of trauma patients. CAVEAT and FASTER ultrasound protocols, which are used in MCIs, included extremity ultrasound examination as part of them. The literature supports the use of ultrasound in diagnosing extremity fractures both...

This study identified casualty crash types for which teen drivers experience excess risk relative to adults. Michigan State Police crash records were used to examine casualty crashes in two statewide populations of drivers who experienced at least one crash from 1989-1996 (pre-graduated driver licensing in Michigan): teens (ages 16-19) and adults (ages 45-65). Rates and rate ratios (RR) based o...