ReviewCritical care (London, England)2014
Risks to emergency medical responders at terrorist incidents: a narrative review of the medical literature.
Review in Critical care (London, England), 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Lessons learned from terror attacks: thematic priorities and development since 2001-results from a systematic review.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2022Pooled it
- Care under attack: a qualitative study of healthcare system disruption and health worker resilience during airstrikes on Lebanon.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Handgrip Strength Among World Trade Center Firefighters and Emergency Medical Responders.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Examining the experiences of prehospital emergency workers in emergency medical intervention during terrorist attacks: a qualitative study.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2025Article
- Tactical Emergency Medical Services in Copenhagen, Denmark: A mixed methods design study introducing a new concept.Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica · 2025Article
- The Field's mass shooting: emergency medical services response.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2023Article
- Medical Coordination Rescue Members' and Ambulance Nurses' Perspectives on a New Model for Mass Casualty and Disaster Management and a Novel Terror Attack Mitigation Approach in the Netherlands: A Qualitative Study.Prehospital and disaster medicine · 2021Article
- The Great Belt train accident: the emergency medical services response.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2021Article
- Natural outbreaks and bioterrorism: How to deal with the two sides of the same coin?Journal of global health · 2020Review
- Emergency response to terrorist attacks: results of the federal-conducted evaluation process in Germany.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2020Article
- Is Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in Islamic Republic of Iran Practical and Efficient in Facing Ebola?Bulletin of emergency and trauma · 2019Article
- EHAC medical working group best practice advice on the role of air rescue and pre hospital critical care at major incidents.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2018Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
As the threat of international terrorism rises, there is an increasing requirement to provide evidence-based information and training for the emergency personnel who will respond to terrorist incidents. Current major incident training advises that emergency responders prioritize their own personal safety above that of the 'scene and survivors'. However, there is limited information available on the nature of these threats and how they may be accurately evaluated. This study reviews the published medical literature to identify the hazards experienced by emergency responders who have attended previous terrorist incidents. A PubMed literature search identified 10,894 articles on the subject of 'terrorism', and there was a dramatic increase in publications after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. There is heterogeneity in the focus and quality of this literature, and 307 articles addressing the subject of scene safety were assessed for information regarding the threats encountered at terrorist incidents. These articles demonstrate that emergency responders have been exposed to both direct terrorist threats and environmental scene hazards, including airborne particles, structural collapse, fire, and psychological stress. The emphasis of training and preparedness for terrorist incidents has been primarily on the direct threats, but the published literature suggests that the dominant causes of mortality and morbidity in responders after such incidents are the indirect environmental hazards. If the medical response to terrorist incidents is to be based on evidence rather than anecdote, analysis of the current literature should be incorporated into major incident training, and consistent collection of key data from future incidents is required.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.