The following is a summary of “Improving CT scanner efficiency for trauma team activations in the emergency department,” published in the January 2024 issue of Emergency Medicine by Zwank, et al.

Trauma Team Activation (TTA) protocols are crucial for efficiently managing life or limb-threatening injuries in emergency departments (EDs). However, delays in stabilizing patients can lead to idle time for CT scanners, impacting overall patient care. For a quality improvement project, researchers sought to assess the impact of implementing a new policy—providing a ‘5-min heads-up’ (5-min HU) notification to CT scanner personnel once a TTA patient was stabilized—on reducing CT scanner idle time.

They conducted a prospective study at a large, urban Level I Trauma Center in November 2022. They tracked incoming TTAs and recorded time points, including TTA notification, 5-minute HU notification, and arrival at the CT scanner. Data were analyzed using a non-parametric comparison test (Mann-Whitney U).

A total of 46 TTAs were included in the analysis, with the majority resulting from blunt trauma (85%) and penetrating trauma (15%). The median time from the initial TTA announcement to CT arrival was 24.0 minutes (IQR: 9.0 min). With the 5-min HU policy, the median time from notification to CT arrival was 5.0 minutes (IQR: 4.0 min), resulting in a median of 19 minutes of CT scanner idle time saved per patient compared to the previous policy (P < 0.0001). Overall, the new policy saved 818 minutes (13.6 hours) of CT scanner time.

Implementing the 5-min HU policy in the ED for TTA patients significantly reduced CT scanner idle time, optimizing resource utilization and potentially improving care for all patients in the ED. It underscored the importance of proactive communication strategies in trauma care protocols to enhance efficiency and patient outcomes.

Reference: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S073567572300582X