The Digital Chain of Survival: A Review of Informatics-Enabled Resuscitation from Field to ICU
Abstract
Background: The resuscitation of critically ill or injured patients involves a critical continuum from pre-hospital care to ICU management, often disrupted by information loss during transitions and fragmented data capture. Although technologies such as point-of-care ultrasound and lab testing have advanced, their integration into a cohesive patient record poses significant challenges, affecting the overall chain of survival.
Aim: This narrative review aims to critically analyze the current state and potential of health informatics to create a seamless "Digital Chain of Survival."
Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted across PubMed, IEEE Xplore, CINAHL, and Scopus databases for English-language articles published between 2010 and 2024.
Results: The review highlights a critical translational gap between data-generation technologies and their informatics integration, citing issues such as data silos, transcription errors, and cognitive overload. It presents a three-phase informatics framework: 1) Seamless Data Capture & Transmission in the field, 2) Intelligent Data Synthesis & Display through real-time dashboards in the ED/trauma bay, and 3) Post-Hoc Data Aggregation & Mining for feedback and protocol improvement. Implementation relies on interoperability standards, user-centered design, and a cultural shift towards data-driven resuscitation.
Conclusion: A fully realized Digital Chain of Survival is vital for modern resuscitation science, enabling healthcare systems to leverage informatics for structuring, transmitting, and visualizing critical data. This approach minimizes information degradation, empowers clinical teams with shared situational awareness, and establishes a continuous learning loop to improve resuscitation protocols, signifying a shift from episodic, memory-based care to a continuous, data-enriched ecosystem.
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Authors
Copyright (c) 2024 Ahmed Ayidh Ali Alqahtani, Abbas Mohammed Ali Hakami, Dalal Ayed Alotaibi, Ahmed Nasser Yahya Sharahili, Sahar Abdullah Alwahidi, Bodour Samer Almotiri, Badriah Sameer Almutairy, Mohammed Mobarek Nasser Aldosari, Ruaa Ibrahim Alqassemi, Khalid Hamdan Almuqati, Sami Alasi Mtrook Alanazi, Yahya Moabber Ali Faloog
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.