P074: Comparison of unmanned aerial vehicle technology versus standard practice in triaging casualties by paramedic students in a mass casualty incident scenario

Abstract

Introduction: The proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology has the potential to change the way medical incident commanders respond to mass casualty incidents (MCI) in triaging victims. The aim of this study was to compare UAV technology to standard practice (SP) in triaging casualties at a MCI Methods: A randomized comparison study was conducted with forty paramedic students from the Holland College Paramedicine Program. Using a simulated motor vehicle collision with moulaged casualties, iterations of twenty students were used for both a day and a night trial. Students were randomized to an UAV or a SP group. After a brief narrative participants either entered the study environment or used UAV technology where total time to triage completion, green casualty evacuation, time on scene, triage order and accuracy was recorded Results: A statistical difference in the time to completing of 3.63 minutes (95% CI: 2.45, 4.85, p=0.002) during the day iteration and a difference of 3.49 minutes (95% CI: 2.08,6.06, p=0.002) for the night trial with UAV groups was noted. There was no difference found in time to green casualty evacuation, time on scene or triage order. One hundred percent accuracy was noted between both groups. Conclusion: This study demonstrated the feasibility of using an UAV at a MCI. A non clinical significant difference was noted in total time to completion between both groups. There was no increase in time on scene by using the UAV while demonstrating the feasibility of remotely triaging green casualties prior to first responder arrival.