Development of a blunt chest injury care bundle: An integrative review

Blunt chest injuries (BCI) are associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. There are many interventions for BCI which may be able to be combined as a care bundle for improved and more consistent outcomes.

To review and integrate the BCI management interventions to inform the development of a BCI care bundle.

A structured search of the literature was conducted to identify studies evaluating interventions for patients with BCI. Databases MEDLINE, CINAHL, PubMed and Scopus were searched from 1990-April 2017. A two-step data extraction process was conducted using pre-defined data fields, including research quality indicators. Each study was appraised using a quality assessment tool, scored for level of evidence, then data collated into categories. Interventions were also assessed using the APEASE criteria then integrated to develop a BCI care bundle.

Eighty-one articles were included in the final analysis. Interventions that improved BCI outcomes were grouped into three categories; respiratory intervention, analgesia and surgical intervention. Respiratory interventions included continuous positive airway pressure and high flow nasal oxygen. Analgesia interventions included regular multi-modal analgesia and paravertebral or epidural analgesia. Surgical fixation was supported for use in moderate to severe rib fractures/BCI. Interventions supported by evidence and that met APEASE criteria were combined into a BCI care bundle with four components: respiratory adjuncts, analgesia, complication prevention, and surgical fixation.

The key components of a BCI care bundle are respiratory support, analgesia, complication prevention including chest physiotherapy and surgical fixation.