Adherence to prehospital thoracostomy practice guidelines for traumatic cardiac arrest: A retrospective study

The management of traumatic cardiac arrest (TCA) focuses on the immediate treatment of reversible causes, including bilateral thoracostomy. In our prehospital emergency service, bilateral thoracostomy has been recommended since 2012 for the management of TCA. We sought to analyse the prehospital management and clinical course of patients with TCA, focusing on changes over time in the use of thoracostomy.

In this single-centre retrospective observational study, we included patients with TCA managed by physicians of the prehospital service of Lausanne University Hospital from 2012 to 2024. The primary outcome was the annual rate of bilateral thoracostomy. Secondary outcomes included the rate of additional on-site measures, such as pelvic binder placement and airway management, and follow-up at 48 h.

Among 3206 cardiac arrests during the study period, 473 (15%) were TCAs. Among the 247 patients with resuscitation attempts, thoracostomy was judged as indicated in 223 (90%) and performed in 148 (66%). Twenty-seven (18%) patients who had a thoracostomy were alive on arrival at hospital, with 9 (6.1%) still alive at 48 h. The mean annual proportion of patients in whom a thoracostomy was performed was 68% (range 0-100%) and increased significantly over the years (p < 0.001).

The annual rate of thoracostomy in TCA patients increased significantly in the period 2012 to 2024. Larger studies are required to determine the impact of thoracostomy on survival.