Visual estimation accuracy for external blood loss in diverse bleeding conditions: a comparative analysis between medical and non-medical personnel

Lee, Hye Ji; Choi, Hyun-soo; Hwang, Seung Yeon; Park, Seong Soo; Lee, Jae Gwang; Ryu, Hyun Sik; Lee, Se Jong; Shin, Ji Eun

J Korean Soc Emerg Med > Volume 34(6); 2023 > Article

Original Article

Journal of The Korean Society of Emergency Medicine 2023;34(6): 622-630.

Visual estimation accuracy for external blood loss in diverse bleeding conditions: a comparative analysis between medical and non-medical personnel

, Hyun Sik Ryu^1,2

¹Department of Emergency Medicine, Konyang University Hospital, Daejeon, Korea
²Department of Emergency Medicine, Konyang University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea
³Unaffiliated researcher
⁴Department of Biomedical Informatics, Konyang University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea

Correspondence

Hyun-soo Choi ,Tel: 042-600-9119, Fax: 042-600-9028, Email: hschoi@kyuh.ac.kr,

Received: April 15, 2023; Revised: July 8, 2023 Accepted: July 19, 2023. Published online: December 31, 2023.

ABSTRACT

Objective:
This study aimed to compare the accuracy of the visual estimation of blood loss between medical personnel (MP) and non-medical personnel (NP) and to evaluate how it varies with changes in the bleeding volume and environment.
Method:
A total of 78 MP and 132 NP were recruited for the study and asked to evaluate nine artificial blood stations and three different volumes of artificial blood (192 mL, 384 mL, 768 mL) in three different environments (floor, diaper, and commode). Statistical analysis and the two-way repeated measures analysis of variance test were used for data analysis.
Results:
There were significant differences between MP and NP regardless of the actual bleeding loss in all the bleeding environments-floor (F=25.332, P<0.001), diaper (F=9.942, P=0.002), and commode (F=29.588, P<0.001). NP consistently had higher estimates of bleeding volume compared to MP. The interaction effect between group and volume was statistically significant for the floor and diaper-floor (F=9.708, P<0.001) and diaper (F=5.420, P=0.013), but there was no significant difference for the commode (P=0.087). Additionally, the standard deviation of bleeding volume estimates was higher for NP.
Conclusion:
Visual estimation of blood loss differed significantly between MP and NP, with NP consistently overestimating and demonstrating lower accuracy and reliability compared to MP. These findings underscore the need for caution when relying on estimates by NP as a diagnostic tool for assessing blood loss.

Key words: Hemorrhage; Emergency medical services; Health personnel