Group Decision-Making during Trauma Patient Resuscitation and Anesthesia

Abstract

We examined decision-making in the real-world environment of trauma patient resuscitation and anesthesia in a Level One Trauma Center. The present paper focuses on the risk factors in the trauma treatment environment that can lead to errors or misjudgments, and strategies that may be helpful in reducing these risks. Video and audio recordings were made of a number of trauma cases involving tracheal intubation, including both emergency intubations performed during resuscitation and “elective” intubations prior to surgery. Post-treatment questionnaires completed by anesthesia personnel suggested that their perceived misjudgments were primarily procedural errors caused by lack of preparation for low probability events, inadequate monitoring of available indices, or carelessness. However, video analyses of a subset of the cases by a non-participant anesthesiologist, in conjunction with examination of patient management records, not only confirmed the occurrence of such errors but also identified instances of knowledge-based errors, which caused subsequent cascades of adverse events. Video analysis also documented the shortcuts that are characteristic of emergency intubations. The post-treatment questionnaires also suggested an association between team interactions and anesthesiologist performance. To follow up on this, we transcribed and categorized verbal communications for several minutes before, during, and after intubation in a subset of cases. This analysis indicated that during emergency intubations not only was more information communicated than during elective intubations, but that there were increases specifically in the incidence of directives, comments conveying plans or strategies, and comments both seeking and offering needed information. The discussion presents a number of strategies that emerged from the present analyses for reducing the risk factors involved in trauma treatment decision-making.