Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41233917›Full record

ReviewCritical care (London, England)2025

Improving decision-making for prehospital Resuscitative Thoracotomy in traumatic cardiac arrest: a data-driven approach.

Ewoud Ter Avest, Laura Kocierz, Cristian Alvarez, Tom Hurst, Daniel Ballard, David J Lockey, Michael D Christian, Zane B Perkins

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Critical care (London, England), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Ewoud Ter AvestLondon's Air Ambulance Charity, The Royal London Hospital, London, E1 1BB, UK. e.teravest@nhs.net.
Laura KocierzLondon's Air Ambulance Charity, The Royal London Hospital, London, E1 1BB, UK.
Cristian AlvarezBarts Health NHS Trust, London, UK.
Tom HurstLondon's Air Ambulance Charity, The Royal London Hospital, London, E1 1BB, UK.
Daniel BallardLondon Ambulance Service NHS Trust, London, UK.
David J LockeyLondon's Air Ambulance Charity, The Royal London Hospital, London, E1 1BB, UK.
Michael D ChristianLondon's Air Ambulance Charity, The Royal London Hospital, London, E1 1BB, UK.
Zane B PerkinsLondon's Air Ambulance Charity, The Royal London Hospital, London, E1 1BB, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Prehospital Resuscitative Thoracotomy (RT) can be life-saving in traumatic cardiac arrest (TCA), particularly in patients with cardiac tamponade. Yet selecting who may benefit is challenging, as survival depends on two often uncertain factors: the underlying aetiology and the duration of arrest. Drawing on extensive prehospital RT experience, we propose a pragmatic framework based on two simple clinical surrogates. Injury location provides a useful surrogate for the likely cause of arrest, helping direct the initial resuscitation strategy, while presenting ECG rhythm offers a rapid marker of physiological viability when timelines are unclear. Combining these surrogates offers a practical decision aid: likely tamponade should prompt immediate RT when an organised rhythm is present, or when arrest duration is short even in asystole, while cases where tamponade is unlikely should prioritise transfusion and haemorrhage control, with RT reserved for those in whom tamponade is subsequently confirmed. This perspective highlights how simple bedside information, supported by governance, can guide timely, pathology-specific care and maximise the benefit of this life-saving intervention.

Indexed as

Decision MakingEmergency Medical ServicesOut-of-Hospital Cardiac ArrestResuscitationThoracotomyHumansDecision-supportPrehospitalResuscitative thoracotomyTraumatic cardiac arrest

Identifiers

PMID41233917
PMCPMC12613375

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.