title: Epidemiology of patients with multiple trauma and the quality of their prehospital respiration management in kashan, iran: six months assessment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Respiration management is an important and critical issue in prehospital transportation phase of multiple trauma patients. However, the quality of this important care has not been assessed in Iran Emergency Medical Services' (EMS).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study was conducted to investigate the quality of prehospital respiration management in patients with multiple trauma, referred to the Shahid Beheshti Trauma Center, Kashan, Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study was conducted in the first six months of 2013. All the 400 patients with multiple trauma, transferred by EMS to the Shahid Beheshti Medical Center, were recruited. The study instrument was a checklist, which was completed through observation. Descriptive statistics were presented.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of all included individuals, 301 were males (75.2%) and 99 were females (24.8%). The most common mechanism of trauma was traffic accident (87.25%). Furthermore, 71.7% of the patients were injured in head and neck and chest areas. The quality of consciousness monitoring and airway management was desirable in 95% of the cases. However, the quality of monitoring patients' respiration was only desirable in 42% of the cases. Only 18.6% of the patients received oxygen therapy during prehospital transportation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The quality of monitoring patients' respiration and oxygen therapy was undesirable in most patients with multiple trauma. Therefore, the EMS workers should be retrained to apply proper respiration management in patients with multiple trauma.
authors.affiliation: Trauma Nursing Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Adib-Hajbaghery
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Farzaneh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Maghaminejad
keywords: Accident; Multiple Trauma; Prehospital Emergency Care; Quality of Health Care; Respiration