Paris Fire Brigade

High-speed boat operations expose personnel to slamming-induced impacts, which can lead to musculoskeletal injuries and cognitive impairments. Despite existing safety measures, regulations and protocols, the risk of injuries remains significant. The MultiAgency, prospective, exploratory, non-intervention, cohort Study on Human Impact Exposure oNboard high-speed boats study aims to investigate the nature and magnitude of these impacts, their acute and long-term health effects, and potential injury prevention strategies to improve operational safety and performance. This is an ongoing multicentre, prospective, non-intervention, observational cohort study. The first participant was enrolled on 23 August 2024. High-speed boat operators log self-reported pain data via a smartphone app, using a Visual Analogue Scale and pain drawings. Triaxial accelerometers are installed on boat hulls and worn by participants to measure impact exposure. Data analysis assesses correlations between exposure and reported pain, enabling the identification of risk factors and the development of safety guidelines for high-speed boat operations. The study has received ethical approval from the relevant ethics committees, including the Swedish Ethics Review Authority (no. 2022-04931-01). All participants will provide informed consent before enrolment. The findings will be disseminated through technical reports, articles in peer-reviewed journals, conference presentations and direct engagement with military and maritime stakeholders to enhance training protocols and safety measures. NCT05299736.

BackgroundSeptic shock medical treatment relies on a bundle of care including antibiotic therapy and hemodynamic optimisation. Hemodynamic optimisation consists of fluid expansion and norepinephrine administration aiming to optimise cardiac output to reach a mean arterial pressure of 65mmHg. In the prehospital setting, direct cardiac output assessment is difficult because of the lack of invasive and non-invasive devices. This study aims to assess the relationship between 30-day mortality and (i) initial pulse pressure (iPP) as (ii) pulse pressure variation (dPP) during the prehospital stage among patients cared for SS by a prehospital mobile intensive care unit (MICU).MethodsFrom May 09th, 2016 to December 02nd, 2021, septic shock patients requiring MICU intervention were retrospectively analysed. iPP was calculated as the difference between systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) at the first contact between the patient and the MICU team prior to any treatment and, dPP as the difference between the final PP (the difference between SBP and DBP at the end of the prehospital stage) and iPP divided by prehospital duration. To consider cofounders, the propensity score method was used to assess the relationship between (i) iPP < 40mmHg, (ii) positive dPP and 30-day mortality.ResultsAmong the 530 patients analysed, pulmonary, digestive, and urinary infections were suspected among 43%, 25% and 17% patients, respectively. The 30-day overall mortality rate reached 31%. Cox regression analysis showed an association between 30-day mortality and (i) iPP < 40mmHg; aHR of 1.61 [1.03–2.51], and (ii) a positive dPP; aHR of 0.56 [0.36–0.88].ConclusionThe current study reports an association between 30-day mortality rate and iPP < 40mmHg and a positive dPP among septic shock patients cared for by a prehospital MICU. A negative dPP could be helpful to identify septic shock with higher risk of poor outcome despite prehospital hemodynamic optimization.

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) has a poor prognosis, with an overall survival rate of about 5% at discharge. Shockable rhythm cardiac arrests (ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT)) have a better prognosis. In case of shockable rhythm, treatment is based on defibrillation, and thereafter, in case of failure of 3 external electric shocks (EES), on direct intravenous administration of 300 mg amiodarone, or lidocaine when amiodarone is unavailable or inefficient. During surgical procedures under extracorporeal circulation, a high potassium cardioplegia solution is administered to interrupt cardiac activity and facilitate surgical procedure. By extension, direct intravenous administration of potassium chloride (KCl) has been shown to convert VF, resulting in return to a hemodynamically efficient organized heart rate within a few minutes. The aim of this study is to provide clinical evidence that direct intravenous injection of KCl, into a patient presenting with OHCA due to refractory VF although 3 EES, should interrupt this VF and then allow rapid restauration of an organized heart rhythm, and thus return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). A multicenter, prospective, single group, phase 2 study will be conducted on 81 patients presenting with refractory VF. After failure of 3 EES, each patient will receive direct intravenous injection of 20 mmol KCl instead of amiodarone. The primary outcome will be survival rate at hospital admission. Major secondary outcomes will include ROSC and time to ROSC in the prehospital setting, number of VF recidivism after KCl injection, survival rate at hospital discharge with a good neurologic prognostic, and survival rate 3 months after hospital discharge with a good neurologic prognostic. No patient is currently included in the study. Conventional guideline strategy based on antiarrhythmic drug administration, i.e. amiodarone or lidocaine, for OHCA due to shockable rhythm, has not yet demonstrated an increase in survival at hospital admission or at hospital discharge. This may be related to the major cardiodepressant effect of those drugs. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04316611. Registered on March 2020. AP-HP180577 / N° EUDRACT: 2019-002544-24. Funded by the French Health Ministry. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04316611.

Abstract Background: While professionals working in chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) environments have underlined the need to improve the psychological and operational safety of personnel, there are few data regarding the stress induced in responders who must wear CBRN equipment. These conditions are particularly restrictive, both due to the risk of exposure to life-threatening toxic agents, and the need to wear equipment that places demand on their psychological, cognitive, and physiological capacities. Inter-individual variability remains poorly understood. Current research recognizes that the activity of the parasympathetic system (PSS) can be used as an objective marker of stress adaptation, measured as heart rate variability (HRV). Methods:28 members of the Paris Fire Brigade medical team attended to three simulated scenarios requiring CBRN management of casualties. We examine: (i) anxiety, emotions, coping, body awareness, cognitive load, HRV, and exteroception impacts of working in CBRN environment; (ii) the role of PSS functioning in stress responses; and (iii) recovery. We recorded for three days: before the simulations (baseline), simulations’ day (pre- and post-training), and the following day. Results show: (i) a high level of anxiety at baseline (Median 51 [46;56]) which decreased between pre- and post-training (p = 0.02); (ii) a post-simulation decrease in negative affect (p = 0.03); (iii) a tendency to decrease in body awareness during simulation (p = 0.06), which returned to the initial level at follow-up (p = 0.07); and (iv) decrease in mean RR between baseline and post-simulation n°1 (p = 0.04), and between baseline and post-training (p= 0.01). Clustering analysis based on the post-training median RMSSD: (i.e., stress-adapted subject versus non-stress-adapted subject) shows that stress-adapted subject tends to have more positive affect (p=0.006), a higher mean RR (p = 0.014) and SDNN (p = 0.005). The autonomic nervous system (ANS) shows different kinetics: the PSS activity increases post simulation in stress-adapted subject, and collapse between baseline, pre- and post-training in non-stress-adapted subject (p = 0.002). The sympathetic activity tends to increase in stress-adapted subject between baseline, pre- and post-simulation and tend to decrease in non-stress-adapted subject. Conclusion: stress-adapted subject has a hardiness psycho-physiological response under CBRN stress.

BackgroundOut-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a common cause of death. Early circulatory failure is the most common reason for death within the first 48 h. This study in intensive care unit (ICU) patients with OHCA was designed to identify and characterize clusters based on clinical features and to determine the frequency of death from refractory postresuscitation shock (RPRS) in each cluster.MethodsWe retrospectively identified adults admitted alive to ICUs after OHCA in 2011–2018 and recorded in a prospective registry for the Paris region (France). We identified patient clusters by performing an unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis (without mode of death among the variables) based on Utstein clinical and laboratory variables. For each cluster, we estimated the hazard ratio (HRs) for RPRS.ResultsOf the 4445 included patients, 1468 (33%) were discharged alive from the ICU and 2977 (67%) died in the ICU. We identified four clusters: initial shockable rhythm with short low-flow time (cluster 1), initial non-shockable rhythm with usual absence of ST-segment elevation (cluster 2), initial non-shockable rhythm with long no-flow time (cluster 3), and long low-flow time with high epinephrine dose (cluster 4). RPRS was significantly associated with this last cluster (HR, 5.51; 95% confidence interval 4.51–6.74).ConclusionsWe identified patient clusters based on Utstein criteria, and one cluster was strongly associated with RPRS. This result may help to make decisions about using specific treatments after OHCA.

Les risques terroristes nucléaires, radiologiques, biologiques et chimiques (NRBC) constituent une menace permanente. Les primo-intervenants seront probablement des personnels non spécialisés face à un événement de cette nature. À l’extérieur ou à l’accueil des hôpitaux, leur rôle sera pourtant décisif sur le plan tactique afin de mettre en œuvre les premières mesures et minimiser les effets sur la population. Acquérir et entretenir un niveau de formation suffisant pour un risque d’occurrence rare, pour agir efficacement en tenue de protection dans un contexte aussi stressant sont des défis pédagogiques et organisationnels pour nos services. En 2019, la brigade de sapeurs-pompiers de Paris conceptualise la « chaîne de survie NRBC » regroupant les cinq actions essentielles à mener par les primointervenants en cas d’événements NRBC. Ces tâches, indissociables, sont représentées sous la forme d’une chaîne constituée de cinq maillons : 1) Décontamination d’urgence pour limiter l’intoxication et la contamination ; 2) Recherche de symptômes pour identifier l’agent et alerter les secours ; 3) Administration précoce des traitements pour réduire la morbi mortalité ; 4) Décontamination approfondie pour protéger le système de santé ; 5) Évacuation vers l’hôpital. En 2020, l’acronyme « DUST DAHO » est ajouté pour optimiser la mémorisation et la restitution des cinq maillons de cette chaîne. Cet outil cognitif s’adresse à tous les acteurs, soignants ou non, à l’extérieur ou à l’accueil de l’hôpital, quel que soit l’agent NRBC en cause. Il pourrait également être un outil de communication précieux pour le grand public en cas de crise.

SummaryThe aim of this study is to investigate the radiative protection provided by various fire hose nozzles used by several Fire Rescue Services in France and to propose an experimental set‐up to quantify it. This study combined the use of radiative sources (a radiant panel or a fire inside a standard shipping container) and metrological devices (radiative heat sensors, IR camera and spectrometer) to estimate the radiative attenuation of water sprays used to protect the firefighters against thermal effects which occur during a fire. For all the fire hose nozzles tested in this work, the maximal effective attenuation reaches 75%. For most of them, an increase of the flow rate improves the radiative attenuation. However, this study shows that a similar attenuation can be reached for different flow rates, suggesting that the droplet size diameter and the droplet volume fraction also play a significant role in the efficiency of the provided spray.