Prehospital treatment of acute traumatic pain is common in military practice. Analgesics are usually administered intravenously (IV). Research from the civil prehospital environment shows that obtaining IV access can be difficult and time consuming, delaying onset of treatment. The challenges for obtaining IV access in the military prehospital setting are even bigger, for example in combat environments. However, this has not been assessed. Current guidelines also offer alternative routes of administration for analgesics, for example intranasal (IN) administration. IN administration is a fast, easy and effective route of administration. This study determines whether IN administration of analgesia is faster and leads to increased healthcare provider satisfaction compared to IV administration in patients with acute traumatic pain in a simulated military prehospital environment.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
19
Analgesia is administered intravenously.
Analgesia is administered intranasally using an atomizer.
Amsterdam UMC
Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
Time required for administration of analgesic (minutes)
Time interval starts when healthcare provider grabs the first required item (e.g. tourniquet, nasal atomizer, ampoule) from the medicine bag. Time interval ends upon completed administration of analgesic.
Time frame: During simulation training (expected <5 minutes)
Total time spent on scene (minutes)
Time interval starts when healthcare provider arrives at the patient. Time interval ends when analgesia has been administered and used materials have been disposed.
Time frame: During simulation training (expected <10 minutes)
Time required for obtaining IV access
Time interval starts when healthcare provider grabs the first required item (e.g. tourniquet or alcohol wipe) from the medicine bag. Time interval ends when the IV catheter has been taped or flushed (whichever comes last).
Time frame: During simulation training (expected <5 minutes)
Time required preparing IN administration
Time interval starts when healthcare provider grabs the nasal atomizer. Time interval ends when the nasal atomizer has been placed on the syringe.
Time frame: During simulation training (expected <0.5 minute)
Satisfaction of the navy nurse regarding the used route of administration.
This is rated on a 0-10 Likert scale, where 0 represents "extremely unsatisfactory" and 10 represents "extremily satisfactory"
Time frame: Directly after completion of simulation training
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