Comparing emergency medical service systems--a project of the European Emergency Data (EED) Project

[The development of emergency and clinical acute and emergency medicine as reflected in the Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift]

The development of emergency medicine reflects the progressive professionalization and structuring of one of the oldest fields of medicine. From the first rescue stations in Vienna to modern emergency departments, this article shows the significant progress and challenges that have led to today's comprehensive emergency care, which have been decisively accompanied and shaped by the Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift over the last 150 years.

Dual-dispatch protocols and return of spontaneous circulation in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a nationwide observational study

OBJECTIVE

The Korean National Fire Agency conducted a pilot project examining Advanced Life Support (ALS) protocols, including epinephrine administration, to improve survival among patients suffering out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of the Korean National Fire Agency ALS protocol on prehospital return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in patients with OHCA.

METHODS

This study included patients with adult-presumed cardiac arrest between January and December 2020. The main factor of interest was ambulance type according to ALS protocol, which was divided into dedicated ALS ambulance (DA), smartphone-based ALS ambulance (SALS), and non-DA, and the main analysis factor was prehospital ROSC. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed.

RESULTS

During the study period, a total of 18,031 adult patients with OHCA was treated by the emergency medical services, including 7,520 DAs (41.71%), 2,622 SALSs (14.54%), and 7,889 non-DAs (43.75%). The prehospital ROSC ratio was 13.19% for DA, 11.17% for SALS, and 7.91% for non-DA (P<0.01). Compared with that of the DA group, the odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for prehospital ROSC ratio were 0.97 (0.82-1.15) in the SALS group and 0.57 (0.50-0.65) in the non-DA group. The prehospital ROSC ratio of the DA group was higher than those of the non-DA group and the SALS group.

CONCLUSION

ALS protocol intervention was associated with prehospital ROSC rates. Therefore, continuous efforts to promote systemic implementation of the ALS protocol to improve OHCA outcomes are necessary.

A retrospective analysis of the need for on-site emergency physician presence and mission characteristics of a rural ground-based emergency medical service

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to address the challenges faced by rural emergency medical services in Europe, due to an increasing number of missions and limited human resources. The primary objective was to determine the necessity of having an on-site emergency physician (EP), while the secondary objectives included analyzing the characteristics of rural EP missions.

METHODS

A retrospective study was conducted, examining rural EP missions carried out between January 1st, 2017, and December 2nd, 2021 in Burgenland, Austria. The need for physical presence of an EP was classified based on the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) score into three categories; category A: no need for an EP (NACA 1-3); category B: need for an EP (NACA 1-3 along with additional medical interventions beyond the capabilities of emergency medical technicians); and category C: definite need for an EP (NACA 4-7). Descriptive statistics were used for analysis.

RESULTS

Out of 16,971 recorded missions, 15,591 were included in the study. Approximately 32.3% of missions fell into category A, indicating that an EP's physical presence was unnecessary. The diagnoses made by telecommunicators matched those of the EPs in only 52.8% of cases.

CONCLUSION

The study suggests that about a third of EP missions carried out in rural areas might not have a solid medical rationale. This underscores the importance of developing an alternative care approach for these missions. Failing to address this could put additional pressure on already stretched EMS systems, risking their collapse.

Using machine learning to assess the extent of busy ambulances and its impact on ambulance response times: A retrospective observational study

BACKGROUND

Ambulance response times are considered important. Busy ambulances are common, but little is known about their effect on response times.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the extent of busy ambulances in Central Norway and their impact on ambulance response times.

DESIGN

This was a retrospective observational study. We used machine learning on data from nearby incidents to assess the probability of up to five different ambulances being candidates to respond to a medical emergency incident. For each incident, the probability of a busy ambulance was estimated by summing the probabilities of candidate ambulances being busy at the time of the incident. The difference in response time that may be attributable to busy ambulances was estimated by comparing groups of nearby incidents with different estimated busy probabilities.

SETTING

Medical emergency incidents with ambulance response in Central Norway from 2013 to 2022.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Prevalence of busy ambulances and differences in response times associated with busy ambulances.

RESULTS

The estimated probability of busy ambulances for all 216,787 acute incidents with ambulance response was 26.7% (95% confidence interval (CI) 26.6 to 26.9). Comparing nearby incidents, each 10-percentage point increase in the probability of a busy ambulance was associated with a delay of 0.60 minutes (95% CI 0.58 to 0.62). For incidents in rural and urban areas, the probability of a busy ambulance was 21.6% (95% CI 21.5 to 21.8) and 35.0% (95% CI 34.8 to 35.2), respectively. The delay associated with a 10-percentage point increase in busy probability was 0.81 minutes (95% CI 0.78 to 0.84) and 0.30 minutes (95% CI 0.28 to 0.32), respectively.

CONCLUSION

Ambulances were often busy, which was associated with delayed ambulance response times. In rural areas, the probability of busy ambulances was lower, although the potentially longer delays when ambulances were busy made these areas more vulnerable.

A comparative study on specialized services in pre-hospital emergencies in Iran and selected countries

The quality of emergency services is one of the indicators describing the health status of countries. Moreover, the specialization of services and targeted response to any accident or disease has been the priority of pre-hospital emergency operations in some leading countries. This study aimed to compare the special services provided in the emergency department of several selected countries. This was a comparative study that was done in Isfahan in 2022. Data were collected by reviewing the literature provided by libraries and emergency websites of selected countries. We selected countries based on the accessibility of information in two groups of developed countries and countries with the same income and population as Iran including Germany, France, The United States, Australia, Britain, Malaysia, and Turkey. Data were classified and compared based on staff, vehicles, and specialized services. Emergency staffs in most countries were of different skill and training levels. Ambulances varied in equipment types in various land, air, and sea forms and dimensions. Developed countries had more modern ambulances and equipment. France and Germany were operating more especially. Specialized teams are dispatched only in the United States and Germany. Existing studies have shown the adequacy and effectiveness of these teams in reducing complications and mortality and improving the prognosis of patients. The use of specialized teams appropriate to each emergency based on the specific and targeted response is effective in improving the prognosis of patients. The results of this study are suggested to beneficiaries to improve the quality of emergency care and reduce complications and potential causalities.

Multi-criteria assignment problems for optimising the emergency medical services (EMS), considering non-homogeneous speciality of the emergency departments and EMS crews

Dispatching of the EMS crews (ambulances) to awaiting patients and then directing the patients, that are already onboard, to appropriate Emergency Departments (ED), is a nontrivial decision problem. In many emergency medical systems it is handled by the Medical Dispatcher using various strategies-sometimes preferring the closest unit. However, applying a wrong strategy may result in transferring acute-state patients, who require very specialised medical aid, to low-speciality EDs with insufficient treatment capabilities. Then, they would need to be re-transferred to referential units, prolonging substantially the time to receive treatment. In some cases such a delay might make the treatment less effective or even impossible. In this work we propose two multi-criteria mathematical optimisation problems-the first one allows us to calculate the ambulance-to-patient assignment, the second one-to establish the patient-to-hospital assignment. These problems not only take the time-to-support criterion into consideration but also optimise for the speciality of care received by each patient. The ED dispatching problem proposed allows both for direct transfers of patients to referential units and for re-transferring them from non-referential EDs. The performance of the proposed approach is tested in simulations with real-life emergency cases from the NEMSIS data set and compared with classic assignment strategies. The tests showed the proposed approach is able to produce better and more fit-for-purpose dispatching results than other strategies tested. Additionally, we propose a framework for embedding the proposed optimisation problems in the current EMS/ED dispatching process.

Influence of the Type of Physician on Survival from Emergency-Medical-Service-Witnessed Cardiac Arrest: An Observational Study

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest resuscitation by non-emergency dedicated physicians may not be positively associated with survival, as these physicians have less experience and exposure than specialised dedicated personnel. The aim of this study was to compare the survival results of the teams led by emergency dedicated physicians (EDPhy) with those of the teams led by non-emergency dedicated physicians (N-EDPhy) and with a team of basic life support (BLS) emergency technicians (EMTs) used as the control group. A retrospective, multicentre study of emergency-medical-service-witnessed cardiac arrest from medical causes in adults was performed. The records from 2006 to 2016 in a database of a regional emergency system were analysed and updated up to 31 December 2021. Two groups were studied: initial shockable and non-shockable rhythms. In total, 1359 resuscitation attempts were analysed, 281 of which belonged to the shockable group, and 1077 belonged to the non-shockable rhythm group. Any onsite return of spontaneous circulation, patients admitted to the hospital alive, global survival, and survival with a cerebral performance category (CPC) of 1-2 (good and moderate cerebral performance) were studied, with both of the latter categories considered at 30 days, 1 year (primary outcome), and 5 years. The shockable and non-shockable rhythm group (and CPC 1-2) survivals at 1 year were, respectively, as follows: EDPhy, 66.7 % (63.4%) and 14.0% (12.3%); N-EDPhy, 16.0% (16.0%) and 1.96 % (1.47%); and EMTs 32.0% (29.7%) and 1.3% (0.84%). The crude ORs were EDPhy vs. N-EDPhy, 10.50 (5.67) and 8.16 (4.63) (all p < 0.05); EDPhy vs. EMTs, 4.25 (2.65) and 12.86 (7.80) (p < 0.05); and N-EDPhy vs. EMTs, 0.50 (0.76) (p < 0.05) and 1.56 (1.32) (p > 0.05). The presence of an EDPhy was positively related to all the survival and CPC rates.

Effects of a designated ambulance team response on prehospital return of spontaneous circulation and advanced cardiac life support of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A nationwide natural experimental study

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to investigate the effects of adding advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) training to an existing basic life support program and the operation of a designated team response for patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) on prehospital return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and ACLS management.

METHODS

A natural experimental study was conducted for emergency medical service (EMS)-treated adult patients with OHCA in 2020. In 2019, a quarter of the EMS clinicians were trained in a 3-day ACLS courses, and they were designated to be dispatched first in suspected OHCA. Some were dispatched only to major emergencies, such as OHCA and myocardial infarction (dedicated team), while others were dispatched to all emergencies with priority to major ones (non-dedicated team). The exposure was the ambulance response type: dedicated, no-dedicated, and basic teams (others). The primary outcome was prehospital ROSC. The secondary outcomes were prehospital ACLS (advanced airway management and intravenous access). A multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of ambulance response type on study outcomes.

RESULTS

Among 23,512 eligible patients with OHCA, 54.8% (12,874) were treated by the basic team, 36.5% (8,580) by the non-dedicated ACLS team, and 8.8% (2,058) were treated by the dedicated ACLS team. Prehospital ROSC was greater for the designated team than for the basic team (dedicated ACLS team 13.8%, non-dedicated ACLS team 11.3%, and basic team 6.7%) (p <0.01). In the final logistic regression analysis, compared with the basic team, the designated ACLS team was associated with a higher probability of prehospital ROSC (AOR (95% CIs), 1.88 (1.68-2.09) compared to the non-dedicated ACLS team, and 2.46 (2.09-2.90) compared to the dedicated ACLS team), prehospital advanced airway management (1.72 (1.57-1.87) and 1.73 (1.48-2.03), respectively), and intravenous access (2.29 (2.16-2.43) and 2.76 (2.50-3.04), respectively).

CONCLUSION

Additional ACLS training and operation of a designated OHCA team response were associated with higher rates of prehospital ROSC and prehospital ACLS provision. However, further research is needed to find the optimal operation for EMS to improve survival outcomes.

Is Prehospital Assessment of qSOFA Parameters Associated with Earlier Targeted Sepsis Therapy? A Retrospective Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to determine whether prehospital qSOFA (quick sequential organ failure assessment) assessment was associated with a shortened 'time to antibiotics' and 'time to intravenous fluid resuscitation' compared with standard assessment.

METHODS

This retrospective study included patients who were referred to our Emergency Department between 2014 and 2018 by emergency medical services, in whom sepsis was diagnosed during hospitalization. Two multivariable regression models were fitted, with and without qSOFA parameters, for 'time to antibiotics' (primary endpoint) and 'time to intravenous fluid resuscitation'.

RESULTS

In total, 702 patients were included. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that antibiotics and intravenous fluids were initiated earlier if infections were suspected and emergency medical services involved emergency physicians. A heart rate above 90/min was associated with a shortened time to antibiotics. If qSOFA parameters were added to the models, a respiratory rate ≥ 22/min and altered mentation were independent predictors for earlier antibiotics. A systolic blood pressure ≤ 100 mmHg and altered mentation were independent predictors for earlier fluids. When qSOFA parameters were added, the explained variability of the model increased by 24% and 38%, respectively (adjusted R² 0.106 versus 0.131 for antibiotics and 0.117 versus 0.162 for fluids).

CONCLUSION

Prehospital assessment of qSOFA parameters was associated with a shortened time to a targeted sepsis therapy.

Non-Invasive Ventilation as a Therapy Option for Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Acute Cardiopulmonary Oedema in Emergency Medical Services

In this observational prospective multicenter study conducted between October 2016 and October 2018, we tested the hypothesis that the use of prehospital non-invasive ventilation (phNIV) to treat patients with acute respiratory insufficiency (ARI) caused by severe acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) and acute cardiopulmonary oedema (ACPE) is effective, time-efficient and safe. The data were collected at four different physician response units and three admitting hospitals in a German EMS system. Patients with respiratory failure due to acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and acute cardiopulmonary oedema were enrolled. A total of 545 patients were eligible for the final analysis. Patients were treated with oxygen supplementation, non-invasive ventilation or invasive mechanical ventilation. The primary outcomes were defined as changes in the clinical parameters and the in-hospital course. The secondary outcomes included time efficiency, peri-interventional complications, treatment failure rate, and side-effects. Oxygenation under phNIV improved equally to endotracheal intubation (ETI), and more effectively in comparison to standard oxygen therapy (SOT) (paO2 SOT vs. non-invasive ventilation (NIV) vs. ETI: 82 mmHg vs. 125 mmHg vs. 135 mmHg, p-value SOT vs. NIV < 0.0001). In a matched subgroup analysis phNIV was accompanied by a reduced time of mechanical ventilation (phNIV: 1.8 d vs. ETI: 4.2 d) and a shortened length of stay at the intensive care unit (3.4 d vs. 5.8 d). The data support the hypothesis that the treatment of severe AECOPD/ACPE-induced ARI using prehospital NIV is effective, time efficient and safe. Compared to ETI, a matched comparison supports the hypothesis that prehospital implementation of NIV may provide benefits for an in-hospital course.

Impact of Operator Medical Specialty on Endotracheal Intubation Rates in Prehospital Emergency Medicine—A Retrospective Cohort Study

Prehospital endotracheal intubation (ETI) can be challenging, and the risk of complications is higher than in the operating room. The goal of this study was to compare prehospital ETI rates between anaesthesiologists and non-anaesthesiologists. This retrospective cohort study compared prehospital interventions performed by either physicians from the anaesthesiology department (ADP) or physicians from another department (NADP, for non-anaesthesiology department physicians). The primary outcome was the prehospital ETI rate. Overall, 42,190 interventions were included in the analysis, of whom 68.5% were performed by NADP. Intubation was attempted on 2797 (6.6%) patients, without any difference between NADPs and ADPs (6.5 versus 6.7%, p = 0.555). However, ADPs were more likely to proceed to an intubation when patients were not in cardiac arrest (3.4 versus 3.0%, p = 0.026), whereas no difference was found regarding cardiac arrest patients (65.2 versus 67.7%, p = 0.243) (p for homogeneity = 0.005). In a prehospital physician-staffed emergency medical service, overall ETI rates did not depend on the frontline operator’s medical specialty background. ADPs were, however, more likely to proceed with ETI than NADPs when patients were not in cardiac arrest. Further studies should help to understand the reasons for this difference.

Identification of new demands regarding prehospital care based on 35,188 missions in 2018

BACKGROUND

Population ageing and increased prevalence of chronic diseases result in the emergence of new demands in prehospital care. The prehospital system is facing an increase of cases without acute threat to life (so-called "non-urgent"), which generates tension due to a higher number of admissions to emergency departments and a greater use of prehospital resources. Our aim is to understand this transition in prehospital activities and to delineate the primary missions performed by paramedics in 2018 with a focus on the population concerned, the severity of cases encountered and the typology of health issues.

METHOD

The study is retrospective, and descriptive, using a statistical description of 35,188 primary missions realized in 2018 in the State of Vaud (Switzerland). The characteristics taken into consideration are the age and gender of patients, as well as the health issue, the severity of cases based on National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics score (NACA score), and the time and place of intervention.

RESULTS

The results describe the primary missions in the State of Vaud in 2018 and show that 87% of missions concern "non-urgent" situations (without acute threat to life). Over half of patients are 65 or older, the highest proportion of health issues, 49%, are medical and only 23% of missions are for traumas. Mission related to mental health issues reach 7% and those for intoxication 6%. Most missions take place between 7:00 am and 6:00 pm (67%), and around 12% of missions lead to the non-transport of the patient.

CONCLUSION

The prehospital sector is confronted with a major transition in terms of patient care. An increase of non-urgent cases is observed, associated with the care of persons aged 65 or more. Our results question the adequacy between the needs in terms of prehospital care and the paramedic profession as it is currently defined, as well as the place of this profession within the health network. Reflecting upon the role of paramedics with respect to the socio-demographic evolution of populations appears necessary, to analyse the adequacy of the paramedics' skills to respond to the current needs.

Prehospital emergency medical technicians can perform ultrasonography and blood analysis in prehospital evaluation of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a feasibility study

INTRODUCTION

Crowding of the emergency departments is an increasing problem. Many patients with an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are often treated in the emergency departments for a very short period before discharged to their homes. It is possible that this treatment could take place in the patients' homes with sufficient diagnostics supporting the treatment. In an effort to keep the diagnostics and treatment of some of these patients in their homes and thus to reduce the patient load at the emergency departments, we implemented a prehospital treat-and-release strategy based on ultrasonography and blood testing performed by emergency medical technicians (EMT) or paramedics (PM) in patients with acute exacerbation of COPD.

METHOD

EMTs and PMs were enrolled in a six-hour educational program covering ultrasonography of the lungs and point of care blood tests. During the seasonal peak of COPD exacerbations (October 2018 - May 2019) all patients who were treated by the ambulance crews for respiratory insufficiency were screened in the ambulances. If the patient had uncomplicated COPD not requiring immediate transport to the hospital, ultrasonographic examination of the lungs, measurements of C-reactive protein and venous blood gases analyses were performed. The response to the initial treatment and the results obtained were discussed via telemedical consultation with a prehospital anaesthesiologist who then decided to either release the patient at the scene or to have the patient transported to the hospital. The primary outcome was strategy feasibility.

RESULTS

We included 100 EMTs and PMs in the study. During the study period, 771 patients with respiratory insufficiency were screened. Uncomplicated COPD was rare as only 41patients were treated according to the treat-and-release strategy. Twenty of these patients (49%) were released at the scene. In further ten patients, technical problems were encountered hindering release at the scene.

CONCLUSION

In a few selected patients with suspected acute exacerbations of COPD, it was technically and organisationally feasible for EMTs and PMs to perform prehospital POCT-ultrasound and laboratory testing and release the patients following treatment. None of the patients released at the scene requested a secondary ambulance within the first 48 h following the intervention.

Comparative Study on the Outcome of Stroke Patients Transferred by Doctor Helicopters and Ground Ambulances in South Korea: A Retrospective Controlled Study

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) for its economic operations in South Korea. This study targeted stroke patients who were transported via HEMS or ground emergency medical services (GEMS) from the scene of an accident to a regional emergency medical center. From this patient population, stroke patients who traveled at least 50 km from the scene of the cerebral infarction to the hospital with analyzable outcome data were extracted and included in this study. This study included 26 HEMS and 102 GEMS stroke patients from a pool of 183 potential patients. The survival-to-discharge rate of patients transported via HEMS (96.2%; 25/26) was significantly higher than that of patients transported via GEMS (83.2%; 104/128) (P=0.001). The HEMS transfer was quicker with respect to the decision-making process because the emergency physician actively evaluates and communicates on-site and during in-transit travel to request an appointment immediately upon arrival at the emergency room. These results indicate that using HEMS increased discharge and survival rates and reduced in-hospital mortality of HEMS of stroke patients with a reduced admission time. This result association leads to reasonable cost-effectiveness and efficient estimates overall. In conclusion, HEMS indicate reduced time taken for stroke patients to be hospitalized and treated and decreased mortality after 24 hours. According to this result, HEMS transport can be more effective than GEMS in long-distance delivery of stroke patients.

Description of Emergency Medical Services, treatment of cardiac arrest patients and cardiac arrest registries in Europe

Background

Variation in the incidence, survival rate and factors associated with survival after cardiac arrest in Europe is reported. Some studies have tried to fill the knowledge gap regarding the epidemiology of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Europe but were unable to identify reasons for the reported differences. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe European Emergency Medical Systems, particularly from the perspective of country and ambulance service characteristics, cardiac arrest identification, dispatch, treatment, and monitoring.

Methods

An online questionnaire with 51 questions about ambulance and dispatch characteristics, on-scene management of cardiac arrest and the availability and dataset in cardiac arrest registries, was sent to all national coordinators who participated in the European Registry of Cardiac Arrest studies. In addition, individual invitations were sent to the remaining European countries.

Results

Participants from 28 European countries responded to the questionnaire. Results were combined with official information on population density. Overall, the number of Emergency Medical Service missions, level of training of personnel, availability of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services and the involvement of first responders varied across and within countries. There were similarities in team training, availability of key resuscitation equipment and permission for ongoing performance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation during transported. The quality of reporting to cardiac arrest registries varied, as well as the data availability in the registries.

Conclusions

Throughout Europe there are important differences in Emergency Medical Service systems and the response to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Explaining these differences is complicated due to significant variation in how variables are reported to and used in registries.

Mortality and quality of care in Nordic physician-staffed emergency medical services

Background

Quality indicators (QI) for physician staffed emergency medical services (P-EMS) are necessary to improve service quality. Mortality can be considered the ultimate outcome QI. The process quality of care in P-EMS can be described by 15 response-specific QIs developed for these services. The most critical patients in P-EMS are presumably found among patients who die within 30 days after the P-EMS response. Securing high quality care for these patients should be a prioritized task in P-EMS quality improvement. Thus, the first aim of this study was to describe the 30-days survival in Nordic P-EMS as an expression of the outcome quality of care. The second aim was to describe the process quality of care as assessed by the 15 QIs, for patients who die within 30 days after the P-EMS response.

Methods

In this prospective observational study, P-EMSs in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway registered 30-days survival and scored the 15 QIs for their patients. The QI performance for patients who died within 30 days after the P-EMS response was assessed using established benchmarks for the applied QIs. Further, mean QI performance for the 30-days survivors and the 30-days non-survivors were compared using Chi-Square test for categorical variables and Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables.

Results

We recorded 2808 responses in the study period. 30-days survival varied significantly between the four participating countries; from 89.0 to 76.1%. When assessing the quality of care for patients who die within 30 days after the P-EMS response, five out of 15 QIs met the established benchmarks. For nine out of 15 QIs, there was significant difference in mean scores between the 30 days survivors and non-survivors.

Conclusion

In this study we have described 30-days survival as an outcome QI for P-EMS, and found significant differences between four Nordic countries. For patients who died within 30 days, the majority of the 15 QIs developed for P-EMS did not meet the benchmarks, indicating room for quality improvement. Finally, we found significant differences in QI performance between 30-days survivors and 30-days non-survivors which also might represent quality improvement opportunities.

[System and skill utilization in an Austrian emergency physician system: retrospective study]

BACKGROUND

The continuous rise in calls for emergency physicians and the low proportion of indicated missions has led to a loss of job attractiveness, which in turn renders services in some areas unable to sufficiently staff units. This retrospective analysis evaluated the frequency of emergency and general medical interventions in a ground-based emergency physician response system.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of anonymized data from the electronic documentation system of the emergency physician response unit at the Medical University of Graz was carried out. Calls answered by emergency physicians between 2010 and 2018 were extracted, measures carried out were evaluated and categorized into three groups: specific emergency interventions (category I), general medical interventions (category II) and no medical activity (category III). The frequency of occurrence of these categories was compared and incidences of individual measures per 100,000 inhabitants were calculated.

RESULTS

A total of 15,409 primary responses and 322 secondary transports were extracted and analyzed. The annual rate of system activation rose almost continuously from 1442 calls in 2010 to 2301 calls in 2018. The 3687 (23.4%) cancellations resulted in 12,044 patient contacts. Of these, 2842 (18%) calls were coded as category I, 7372 (47%) as category II and 5518 (35%) as category III. The frequency of specific emergency measures and general medical interventions was estimated at 157/100,000 and 409/100,000 inhabitants, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

No specific emergency physician interventions were required in the majority of call-outs. The current model of preclinical care does not appear to be patient-oriented and efficient. Furthermore, the low proportion of critically ill and injured patients already leads to a reduction in attractiveness for emergency physicians and may introduce the threat of quality issues due to insufficient routine experience and lack of training.

Dispatcher assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation implementation in Kuwait: A before and after study examining the impact on outcomes of out of hospital cardiac arrest victims

Dispatcher assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DACPR) by Emergency medical services has been shown to improve rates of early out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) recognition and early cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for OHCA. This study measures the impact of introducing DACPR on OHCA recognition, CPR rates and on patient outcomes in a pilot region in Kuwait.EMS treated OHCA data over 10 months period (February 21-December 31, 2017) before and after the intervention was prospectively collected and analyzed.Comprehensive DACPR in the form of: a standardized dispatch protocol, 1-day training package and quality assurance and improvement measures were applied to Kuwait EMS central Dispatch unit only for pilot region. Primary outcomes: OHCA recognition rate, CPR instruction rate, and Bystander CPR rate. Secondary outcome: survival to hospital discharge.A total of 332 OHCA cases from the EMS archived data were extracted and after exclusion 176 total OHCA cases remain. After DACPR implementation OHCA recognition rate increased from 2% to 12.9% (P = .037), CPR instruction rate increased from 0% to 10.4% (P = .022); however, no significant change was noted for bystander CPR rates or prehospital return of spontaneous circulation. Also, survival to hospital discharge rate did not change significantly (0% before, and 0.8% after, P = .53)In summary, DACPR implementation had positive impacts on Kuwait EMS system operational outcomes; early OHCA recognition and CPR instruction rates in a pilot region of Kuwait. Expanding this initiative to other regions in Kuwait and coupling it with other OHCA system of care interventions are needed to improve OHCA survival rates.

Emergency medical service delays in ST-elevation myocardial infarction: a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate emergency medical services (EMS) delays and their impact on time to treatment and mortality in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

METHOD

We collected data on EMS time intervals from published studies across five electronic databases. The primary EMS interval was the time in minutes between first medical contact and arrival at hospital door (FMC-to-door time). Secondary intervals were other components of EMS delay. Weighted means were measured using random-effects models. Meta-regression was used to identify factors associated with EMS delays and to assess the impact of EMS delay on the proportion of patients treated within90 min and mortality.

RESULTS

Two independent reviewers included 100 studies (125 343 patients) conducted in 20 countries. The weighted mean FMC-to-door time was 41 min (n=101 646; 95% CI 39 to 43, range 21-88). However, substantial heterogeneity was observed with each interval, which could be explained by region and urban classification, distance to hospital and method of ECG interpretation. In a meta-regression adjusted for door-to-balloon time, a 10 min increase in FMC-to-door time was associated with a 10.6% (95% CI 7.6% to 13.5%; p<0.001) reduction in the proportion of patients treated within 90 min. Shorter EMS delay was significantly associated with lower short-term mortality in patients receiving prehospital thrombolysis (p=0.018).

CONCLUSION

EMS delays account for half of the total system delay in STEMI. There is a fourfold global variation in EMS delays, which are not completely explained by differences in system characteristics. Reducing unexplained variation could yield improvements in the time to treatment and outcome of STEMI patients.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42017074118.

Common core content in education for nurses in ambulance care in Sweden, Finland and Belgium

There is no consensus regarding the required education content and competence needed for professionals working in the emergency medical services and only a few countries in Europe staff ambulances with registered nurses. This study aimed to identify common core content in Swedish, Finnish and Belgian university curricula in the education on advanced level for registered nurses in ambulance care and to describe the teachers' perception of the necessary content for the profession as a registered nurse in ambulance care. A deductive research design was used. Three Universities, one from each country; Sweden, Finland and Belgium, participated. Data was generated from curricula and interviews with teachers and analyzed with different approaches of qualitative content analysis. The results showed commonness with respect to core content; the emphasis was mainly on medical knowledge but the content concerning contextual subjects differed between the three universities. The teachers, however, aimed for the students' to acquire a broad competence in clinical reasoning by implementing theory into practice, as well as developing the students' personal aptitude and instilling a scientific awareness. The results suggest that it is possible to create a common curriculum for training of RNs for working in ambulance care.

What is the impact of physicians in prehospital treatment for patients in need of acute critical care? - An overview of reviews

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this overview was to systematically identify and synthesize existing evidence from systematic reviews on the impact of prehospital physician involvement.

METHODS

The Medline, Embase, and Cochrane library were searched from 1 January 2000 to 17 November 2017. We included systematic reviews comparing physician-based with non-physician-based prehospital treatment in patients with one of five critical conditions requiring a rapid response.

RESULTS

Ten reviews published from 2009 to 2017 were included. Physician treatment was associated with increased survival in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and patients with severe trauma; in the latter group, the result was based on more limited evidence. The success rate of prehospital endotracheal intubation (ETI) has improved over the years, but ETI by physicians is still associated with higher success rates than intubation by paramedics. In patients with severe traumatic brain injury, intubation by paramedics who were not well skilled to do so markedly increased mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

Current evidence is hinting at a benefit of physicians in selected aspects of prehospital emergency services, including treatment of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and critically ill or injured patients in need of prehospital intubation. Evidence is, however, limited by confounding and bias, and comparison is hampered by differences in case mix and the organization of emergency medical services. Future research should strive to design studies that enable appropriate control of baseline confounding and obtain follow-up data for the proportion of patients who die in the prehospital setting.

Differences in pain treatment between surgeons and anaesthesiologists in a physician staffed prehospital emergency medical service: a retrospective cohort analysis

Background

Although pain treatment is an important objective in prehospital emergency medicine the incidence of oligoanalgesia is still high in prehospital patients. Given that prehospital emergency medicine in Germany is open for physicians of any speciality, the prehospital pain treatment may differ depending on the primary medical education. Aim of this study was to explore the difference in pain treatment between surgeons and anaesthesiologists in a physician staffed emergency medical service.

Methods

Retrospective single centre cohort analysis in a physician staffed ground based emergency medical service from January 2014 until December 2016. A total of 8882 consecutive emergency missions were screened. Primary outcome measure was the difference in application frequency of prehospital analgesics by anaesthesiologist or surgeon. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used for statistical analysis including subgroup analysis for trauma and acute coronary syndrome.

Results

A total of 8238 patients were included in the analysis. There was a significant difference in the application frequency of analgesics between surgeons and anaesthesiologists especially for opioids (p < 0.001, OR 0.68 [0.56–0.82]). Fentanyl was the most common administered analgesic in the trauma subgroup, but significantly less common used by surgeons (p = 0.005, OR 0.63 [0.46–0.87]). In acute coronary syndrome cases there was no significant difference in morphine administration between anaesthesiologists and surgeons (p = 0.49, OR 0.88 [0.61–1.27]).

Conclusions

Increased training for prehospital pain treatment should be implemented, since opioids were administered notably less frequent by surgeons than by anaesthesiologists.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12871-019-0683-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Prehospital response to respiratory distress by the public ambulance system in a Ukrainian city

BACKGROUND

The capability of the public ambulance system in Ukraine to address urgent medical complaints in a prehospital environment is unknown. Evaluation using reliable sources of patient data is needed to provide insight into current treatments and outcomes.

METHODS

We obtained access to de-identified computer records from the emergency medical services (EMS) dispatch center in Poltava, a medium-sized city in central Ukraine. Covering a five-month period, we retrieved data for urgent calls with a patient complaint of respiratory distress. We evaluated ambulance response and treatment times, field diagnoses, and patient disposition, and analyzed factors related to fatal outcomes.

RESULTS

Over the five-month period of the study, 2,029 urgent calls for respiratory distress were made to the Poltava EMS dispatch center. A physician-led ambulance typically responded within 10 minutes. Seventy-seven percent of patients were treated and released, twenty percent were taken to hospital, and three percent died in the prehospital phase. On univariate analysis, age over 60 and altered mental status at the time of the call were strongly associated with a fatal outcome.

CONCLUSION

The EMS dispatch center in a medium-sized city in Ukraine has adequate organizational infrastructure to ensure that a physician-led public ambulance responds rapidly to complaints of respiratory distress. That EMS system was able to manage most patients without requiring hospital admission. However, a prehospital fatality rate of three percent suggests that further research is warranted to determine training, equipment, or procedural needs of the public ambulance system to manage urgent medical conditions.

Professional firefighter and trained volunteer first-responding units in emergency medical service

BACKGROUND

Although widely dispatched to out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, the performance of prehospital first-responding units in other medical emergencies is unknown.

METHODS

In this retrospective, descriptive study, the general performance of 44 first-responding units in Pirkanmaa County, Finland, were examined. A subgroup analysis compared the first-responding units made up of professional firefighters and trained volunteers.

RESULTS

First-responding units were dispatched to patients during 1622 missions between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2013. The median time to reach the scene was 9 minutes in any mission. Overall, first responders evaluated 1015 patients and provided treatment or assisted ambulance personnel in 793 (78%) cases. The most common treatment modalities were assistance, such as carrying (22%) and the administration of supplemental oxygen (19%). There were 83 resuscitation attempts during the time period. In 42 of these, first-responding units initiated basic life support a median of 4 minutes prior to the arrival of ambulance personnel. Return of spontaneous circulation was achieved in 20% of cases. The subgroup analysis showed that trained volunteers administered oxygen more liberally than professional firefighters in stroke and chest pain mission (stroke: professional 9/236 cases [4%] vs layperson 26/181 cases [14%], P < 0.001; chest pain: professional 16/78 cases [21%] vs layperson 77/159 cases [48%], P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

First-responding units provided initial treatment or assistance to ambulance personnel in approximately half of the missions. Implementation of professional- and layperson-staffed first-responding units in emergency medical service system seems to be feasible.

Disparities in Inter-hospital Helicopter Transportation for Hispanics by Geographic Region: A Threat to Fairness in the Era of Thrombectomy

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is a time-dependent therapy that is only available at a limited number of hospitals. As such, patients that live at a considerable distance of those specialized centers often require rapid interhospital emergent evacuation with Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) to be considered for MT. It is not known whether the use of HEMS is equitable across different groups of patients.

METHODS

Acute ischemic stroke patients emergently transferred to another facility were identified in a retrospective review of a large Medicare claims database. Mode of transportation (HEMS, advanced, or basic ground ambulances) was determined by CPT codes. Distance from patient's residence to the closest center with MT capabilities was calculated. Generalized linear mixed logit models were used to determine the odds of HEMS relative to ground services for Hispanic and non-Hispanic black (NHB) patients relative to non-Hispanic white (NHW) patients while controlling for confounders.

RESULTS

A total of 8027 patients that underwent emergent interhospital transportation were analyzed. HEMS utilization was 18.1% for NHB, 20.6% for Hispanics, and 21.6% for NHW (P = .054). In adjusted analyses for confounders, including distance to a MT-capable hospital, Hispanic patients were less likely than NHWs to be transported by HEMS. While that association had marginal significance for the whole United States (OR = .76; 95% CI, .57-1.01; P = .055), it was statistically significant for patients living in the southern region of the United States (OR = .6; 95% CI, .40-.92; P = .019).

DISCUSSION

Our findings suggest there is a disparity in the use of HEMS in Hispanic stroke patients compared to NHW. Such a disparity may delay arrival to a MT-capable hospital, delay treatment times, or lead to ineligibility for MT altogether. Given the known benefit of MT and known existing disparities in stroke treatment and outcomes, it is important to further investigate and address disparities in mode of interhospital transportation.

Difference of achievements between physicians from public hospitals and emergency medical center in prehospital emergency

The benefit gained by replacing physicians in the prehospital service is still controversial. The present study compared the difference of achievements of pre-hospital emergency between the physicians from public hospitals and those from the Emergency Medical Center.We included prehospital emergency patients who were sent to the hospital by ambulance after emergency calls from February 1 to May 31, 2016, in Shanghai (24,250,000 inhabitants). Cohort characteristics and diagnoses were described, and the data were analyzed using the Shanghai Emergency Medical Center's database software. We determined whether the physicians from public hospitals were associated with greater success rate of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and examined the diseases category and the number of patients with cardiac arrest in prehospital emergency patients.During February 1, 2016, to May 31, 2016, the total turnout of ambulances in the urban area of Shanghai was 107,341 times, among which, first aid was 55,053 times. The number of patients with cardiac arrest was 3012, the 3 principal causes for cardiac arrest were Unknown diagnosis (45.19%), Cardiovascular disease (28.02%) and Respiratory diseases (11.09%), and the successful rate of CPR was 1.56%. The number of critically ill patients, encountered by the physicians from public hospitals, was 10.33% as compared to those from the Emergency Medical Center, which was 11.77% (P < .001). Although the success rate of CPR of the physicians from public hospitals was lower than that of the physicians from the Emergency Medical Center (1.22-1.58%), it did not achieve statistical significance (P > .05).Transferring the physicians from public hospitals to work in Emergency Medical Center showed no improvement in the success rates of resuscitation.

Patient-tailored triage decisions by anaesthesiologist-staffed prehospital critical care teams: a retrospective descriptive study

OBJECTIVES

The primary objective was to estimate the incidence of patients in the Central Denmark Region triaged to bypass the local emergency department without being part of a predefined fast-track protocol. The secondary objective was to describe these triage decisions in more detail with regard to the most common diagnoses, incidence of direct referral sorted by the prehospital critical care team (PHCCT) and the destination hospital.

DESIGN

Retrospective descriptive study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

The emergency medical service in the Central Denmark Region primarily consists of emergency medical technician (EMT)-staffed ambulances and anaesthesiologist-EMT-staffed PHCCTs. Patients treated by the nine ground-based PHCCTs in the region constituted the study population. The inclusion criteria were all patients treated by the PHCCTs during 2013 and 2014. The exclusion criteria were interhospital transfers, and patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, stroke or were in active labour.

ENDPOINTS

Incidence of prehospital critical care anaesthesiologist-initiated direct referral, prehospital tentative diagnoses and transport destination.

RESULTS

During the study period, the PHCCTs treated 39 396 patients and diverted 989 (2.5%) patients not covered by a predefined fast-track protocol to a specialised hospital department. 'Resuscitated from cardiac arrest' (n=143), 'treatment and observations following road traffic accident' (n=105) and 'observation and treatment for an unspecified disease/condition' (n=78) were the most common prehospital tentative diagnoses, accounting for 33.0% of all diverted patients. In total, 943 (95.3%) of the PHCCT-diverted patients were diverted to a department at Aarhus University Hospital.

CONCLUSION

Our results demonstrate that in 1 out of 40 patient contacts, the anaesthesiologist-staffed PHCCTs in the Central Denmark Region divert critically ill and injured patients directly to a specialised hospital department, bypassing local emergency departments and potentially reducing time to definitive care for these patients. There may be a potential for increased referral of patients with no predefined fast-track directly to specialised departments in the Central Denmark Region.

The role of point of care ultrasound in prehospital critical care: a systematic review

Background

In 2011, the role of Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) was defined as one of the top five research priorities in physician-provided prehospital critical care and future research topics were proposed; the feasibility of prehospital POCUS, changes in patient management induced by POCUS and education of providers. This systematic review aimed to assess these three topics by including studies examining all kinds of prehospital patients undergoing all kinds of prehospital POCUS examinations and studies examining any kind of POCUS education in prehospital critical care providers.

Methods and results

By a systematic literature search in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases, we identified and screened titles and abstracts of 3264 studies published from 2012 to 2017. Of these, 65 studies were read in full-text for assessment of eligibility and 27 studies were ultimately included and assessed for quality by SIGN-50 checklists. No studies compared patient outcome with and without prehospital POCUS. Four studies of acceptable quality demonstrated feasibility and changes in patient management in trauma. Two studies of acceptable quality demonstrated feasibility and changes in patient management in breathing difficulties. Four studies of acceptable quality demonstrated feasibility, outcome prediction and changes in patient management in cardiac arrest, but also that POCUS may prolong pauses in compressions. Two studies of acceptable quality demonstrated that short (few hours) teaching sessions are sufficient for obtaining simple interpretation skills, but not image acquisition skills. Three studies of acceptable quality demonstrated that longer one- or two-day courses including hands-on training are sufficient for learning simple, but not advanced, image acquisition skills. Three studies of acceptable quality demonstrated that systematic educational programs including supervised examinations are sufficient for learning advanced image acquisition skills in healthy volunteers, but that more than 50 clinical examinations are required for expertise in a clinical setting.

Conclusion

Prehospital POCUS is feasible and changes patient management in trauma, breathing difficulties and cardiac arrest, but it is unknown if this improves outcome. Expertise in POCUS requires extensive training by a combination of theory, hands-on training and a substantial amount of clinical examinations – a large part of these needs to be supervised.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s13049-018-0518-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Guideline adherence in acute coronary syndromes between telemedically supported paramedics and conventional on-scene physician care: A longitudinal pre-post intervention cohort study

Health informatics applications reduce time intervals in acute coronary syndromes, but their impact on guideline adherence is unknown. This pre-post intervention study compared guideline adherence between telemedically supported (n = 101, April 2014-July 2015) and conventional on-scene care (n = 120, January 2014-March 2014) in acute coronary syndrome. A multivariate logistic regression was performed for dependent variables: adverse events 0 versus 0, p = NA; electrocardiogram 101 versus 120, p = NA; acetylic salicylic acid 91 versus 102, p = 0.21; heparin 92 versus 112, p = 0.99; morphine 96 versus 107, p = 0.33; oxygen 83 versus 102, p = 0.92; glyceroltrinitrate 55 versus 90, p = 0.038; correct destination: 100 versus 119, p = 1.0. The time from ambulance arrival to hospital arrival was prolonged with telemedicine: 48.7 ± 11 min versus 35.5 ± 8.1 min, p < 0.001. Guideline adherence showed no differences except for glyceroltrinitrate. Prolonged time requirements are critical, though explainable. However, this approach enables a timely and high-quality backup strategy if only paramedics are on-scene.

Policy, Practice, and Research Agenda for Emergency Medical Services Oversight: A Systematic Review and Environmental Scan

Introduction In a 2015 report, the Institute of Medicine (IOM; Washington, DC USA), now the National Academy of Medicine (NAM; Washington, DC USA), stated that the field of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) exhibits signs of fragmentation; an absence of system-wide coordination and planning; and a lack of federal, state, and local accountability. The NAM recommended clarifying what roles the federal government, state governments, and local communities play in the oversight and evaluation of EMS system performance, and how they may better work together to improve care.

OBJECTIVE

This systematic literature review and environmental scan addresses NAM's recommendations by answering two research questions: (1) what aspects of EMS systems are most measured in the peer-reviewed and grey literatures, and (2) what do these measures and studies suggest for high-quality EMS oversight?

METHODS

To answer these questions, a systematic literature review was conducted in the PubMed (National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, Maryland USA), Web of Science (Thomson Reuters; New York, New York USA), SCOPUS (Elsevier; Amsterdam, Netherlands), and EMBASE (Elsevier; Amsterdam, Netherlands) databases for peer-reviewed literature and for grey literature; targeted web searches of 10 EMS-related government agencies and professional organizations were performed. Inclusion criteria required peer-reviewed literature to be published between 1966-2016 and grey literature to be published between 1996-2016. A total of 1,476 peer-reviewed titles were reviewed, 76 were retrieved for full-text review, and 58 were retained and coded in the qualitative software Dedoose (Manhattan Beach, California USA) using a codebook of themes. Categorizations of measure type and level of application were assigned to the extracted data. Targeted websites were systematically reviewed and 115 relevant grey literature documents were retrieved.

RESULTS

A total of 58 peer-reviewed articles met inclusion criteria; 46 included process, 36 outcomes, and 18 structural measures. Most studies applied quality measures at the personnel level (40), followed by the agency (28) and system of care (28), and few at the oversight level (5). Numerous grey literature articles provided principles for high-quality EMS oversight.

CONCLUSIONS

Limited quality measurement at the oversight level is an important gap in the peer-reviewed literature. The grey literature is ahead in this realm and can guide the policy and research agenda for EMS oversight quality measurement. Taymour RK , Abir M , Chamberlin M , Dunne RB , Lowell M , Wahl K , Scott J . Policy, practice, and research agenda for Emergency Medical Services oversight: a systematic review and environmental scan. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(1):89-97.

Blood pressure management and guideline adherence in hypertensive emergencies and urgencies: A comparison between telemedically supported and conventional out-of-hospital care

Prehospital hypertensive emergencies and urgencies are common, but evidence is lacking. Telemedically supported hypertensive emergencies and urgencies were prospectively collected (April 2014-March 2015) and compared retrospectively with a historical control group of on-scene physician care in the emergency medical service of Aachen, Germany. Blood pressure management and guideline adherence were evaluated. Telemedical (n=159) vs conventional (n=172) cases: blood pressure reductions of 35±24 mm Hg vs 44±23 mm Hg revealed a group effect adjusted for baseline differences (P=.0006). Blood pressure management in categories: no reduction 6 vs 0 (P=.0121); reduction ≤25% (recommended range) 113 vs 110 patients (P=.2356); reduction >25% to 30% 13 vs 29 (0.020); reduction >30% 12 vs 16 patients (P=.5608). The telemedical approach led to less pronounced blood pressure reductions and a tendency to improved guideline adherence. Telemedically guided antihypertensive care may be an alternative to conventional care especially for potentially underserved areas.

Developing quality indicators for physician-staffed emergency medical services: a consensus process

Background

There is increasing interest for quality measurement in health care services; pre-hospital emergency medical services (EMS) included. However, attempts of measuring the quality of physician-staffed EMS (P-EMS) are scarce. The aim of this study was to develop a set of quality indicators for international P-EMS to allow quality improvement initiatives.

Methods

A four-step modified nominal group technique process (expert panel method) was used.

Results

The expert panel reached consensus on 26 quality indicators for P-EMS. Fifteen quality indicators measure quality of P-EMS responses (response-specific quality indicators), whereas eleven quality indicators measure quality of P-EMS system structures (system-specific quality indicators).

Discussion

When measuring quality, the six quality dimensions defined by The Institute of Medicine should be appraised. We argue that this multidimensional approach to quality measurement seems particularly reasonable for services with a highly heterogenic patient population and complex operational contexts, like P-EMS. The quality indicators in this study were developed to represent a broad and comprehensive approach to quality measurement of P-EMS.

Conclusions

The expert panel successfully developed a set of quality indicators for international P-EMS. The quality indicators should be prospectively tested for feasibility, validity and reliability in clinical datasets. The quality indicators should then allow for adjusted quality measurement across different P-EMS systems.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13049-017-0362-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Description of the ambulance services participating in the Aus-ROC Australian and New Zealand out-of-hospital cardiac arrest Epistry

OBJECTIVE

The present study aimed to describe and examine similarities and differences in the current service provision and resuscitation protocols of the ambulance services participating in the Aus-ROC Australian and New Zealand out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) Epistry. Understanding these similarities and differences is important in identifying ambulance service factors that might explain regional variation in survival of OHCA in the Aus-ROC Epistry.

METHODS

A structured questionnaire was completed by each of the ambulance services participating in the Aus-ROC Epistry. These ambulance services were SA Ambulance Service, Ambulance Victoria, St John Ambulance Western Australia, Queensland Ambulance Service, St John Ambulance NT, St John New Zealand and Wellington Free Ambulance. The survey aimed to describe ambulance service and dispatch characteristics, resuscitation protocols and details of cardiac arrest registries.

RESULTS

We observed similarities between services with respect to the treatment of OHCA and dispatch systems. Differences between services were observed in the serviced population; the proportion of paramedics with basic life support, advanced life support or intensive care training skills; the number of OHCA cases attended; guidelines related to withholding or terminating resuscitation attempts; and the variables that might be used to define 'attempted resuscitation'. All seven participating ambulance services were noted to have existing OHCA registries.

CONCLUSION

There is marked variation between ambulance services currently participating in the Aus-ROC Australian and New Zealand OHCA Epistry with respect to workforce characteristics and key variable definitions. This variation between ambulance services might account for a proportion of the regional variation in survival of OHCA.

Diagnosis and mortality in prehospital emergency patients transported to hospital: a population-based and registry-based cohort study

OBJECTIVE

Knowledge about patients after calling for an ambulance is limited to subgroups, such as patients with cardiac arrest, myocardial infarction, trauma and stroke, while population-based studies including all diagnoses are few. We examined the diagnostic pattern and mortality among all patients brought to hospital by ambulance after emergency calls.

DESIGN

Registry-based cohort study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

We included patients brought to hospital in an ambulance dispatched after emergency calls during 2007-2014 in the North Denmark Region (580 000 inhabitants). We reported hospital diagnosis according to the chapters of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition (ICD-10), and studied death on days 1 and 30 after the call. Cohort characteristics and diagnoses were described, and the Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate mortality and 95% CIs.

RESULTS

In total, 148 757 patients were included, mean age 52.9 (SD 24.3) years. The most frequent ICD-10 diagnosis chapters were: 'injury and poisoning' (30.0%), and the 2 non-specific diagnosis chapters: 'symptoms and abnormal findings, not elsewhere classified' (17.5%) and 'factors influencing health status and contact with health services' (14.1%), followed by 'diseases of the circulatory system' (10.6%) and 'diseases of the respiratory system' (6.7%). The overall 1-day mortality was 1.8% (CI 1.7% to 1.8%) and 30-day mortality 4.7% (CI 4.6% to 4.8%). 'Diseases of the circulatory system' had the highest 1-day mortality of 7.7% (CI 7.3% to 8.1%) accounting for 1209 deaths. After 30 days, the highest number of deaths were among circulatory diseases (2313), respiratory diseases (1148), 'symptoms and abnormal findings, not elsewhere classified' (1119) and 'injury and poisoning' (741), and 30 days mortality in percentage was 14.7%, 11.6%, 4.3% and 1.7%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients' diagnoses from hospital stay after calling 1-1-2 in this population-based study were distributed across all ICD-10 chapters. Mortality varied widely between diagnostic groups. Non-specific diagnoses accounted for one-third of the patients and contributed to mortality in terms of total number of deaths.

Pediatric Cardiac Arrest Due to Trauma

Survival from pediatric cardiac arrest due to trauma has been reported to be 0.0%-8.8%. Some argue that resuscitation efforts in the case of trauma-related cardiac arrests are futile. We describe a successful outcome in the case of a child who suffered cardiac arrest caused by external traumatic airway obstruction. Our case illustrates how to deal with pediatric traumatic cardiac arrests in an out-of-hospital environment. It also illustrates how good clinical treatment in these situations may be supported by correct treatment after hospital admission when it is impossible to ventilate the patient to provide sufficient oxygen delivery to vital organs. This case relates to a lifeless child of 3-5 years, blue, and trapped by an electrically operated garage door. The first ambulance arrived to find several men trying to bend the frame and the door apart in order to extricate the child, who was hanging in the air with head and neck squeezed between the horizontally-moving garage door and the vertical door frame. One paramedic found a car jack and used it to push the door and the frame apart, allowing the lifeless child to be extricated. Basic life support was then initiated. Intubation was performed by the anesthesiologist without drugs. With FiO2 1.0 the first documented SaO2 was <50%. Restoration of Spontaneous Circulation was achieved after thirty minutes, and she was transported to the hospital. After a few hours she was put on venous-arterial ECMO for 5.5 days and discharged home after two months. Outpatient examinations during the rest of 2013 were positive, and the child found not to be suffering from any injuries, either physical or mental. The last follow-up in October 2014 demonstrated she had made a 100% recovery and she started school in August 2014.

Can public health registry data improve Emergency Medical Dispatch?

BACKGROUND

Emergency Medical Dispatchers make decisions based on limited information. We aimed to investigate if adding demographic and hospitalization history information to the dispatch process improved precision.

METHODS

This 30-day follow-up study evaluated time-critical emergencies in contact with the emergency phone number 112 in Denmark during 18 months. 'Time-critical' was defined as suspected First Hour Quintet (FHQ) (cardiac arrest, chest pain, stroke, difficulty breathing, trauma). The association of age, sex, and hospitalization history with adverse outcomes was examined using logistic regression. The predictive ability was assessed via area under the curve (AUC) and Hosmer-Lemeshow tests.

RESULTS

Of 59,943 patients (median age 63 years, 45% female), 44-45.5% had at least one chronic condition, 3880 (6.47%) died the day or the day after (primary outcome) calling 112. Age 30-59 was associated with increased adjusted odds ratio (OR) of death on day 1 of 3.59 [2.88-4.47]. Male sex was associated with an increased adjusted OR of death on day 1 of 1.37 [1.28-1.47]. Previous hospitalization with nutritional deficiencies (adjusted OR 2.07 [1.47-2.92]) and severe chronic liver disease (adjusted OR 2.02 [1.57-2.59]) was associated with a higher risk of death. For trauma patients, the discriminative ability of the model showed an AUC of 0.74 for death on day 1.

CONCLUSION

Increasing age, male sex, and hospitalization history was associated with increased risk of death on day 1 for FHQ 112 callers. Additional efforts are warranted to clarify the role for risk prediction tools in emergency medical dispatch.

Analgesia by telemedically supported paramedics compared with physician-administered analgesia: A prospective, interventional, multicentre trial

BACKGROUND

In German emergency medical services (EMS), the analgesia is restricted to physicians. In this prospective, interventional, multicentre trial, complications with and quality of telemedically delegated analgesia were evaluated.

METHODS

If prehospital analgesia was necessary, five telemedically equipped paramedic ambulances from four different districts could consult a telemedicine centre. Analgesics were delegated based on a predefined algorithm. Telemedically assisted cases were compared with local historical regular EMS missions using matched pairs. The primary outcome was the frequency of therapeutic complications (respiratory/circulatory insufficiency, allergic reactions). Secondary outcomes were quality of analgesia (11-point numerical rating scale, NRS) and the frequency of nausea/vomiting.

RESULTS

Analgesia was necessary in 106 telemedically assisted missions. In 23 cases, the telemedical procedure was used until an EMS physician arrived. Of the remaining 83 cases, 80 could be matched to comparable controls. Complications did not occur in either the study group or the control group (0 vs. 0; p = N/A). Complete NRS documentation was noted in 65/80 (study group) and 32/80 (control group) cases (p < 0.0001). Adequate initial pain reduction (quality indicator: reduction of NRS ≥ 2 points or NRS < 5 at end of mission) occurred in 61/65 versus 31/32 cases (p = 1.0); NRS reduction during mission was 3.78 ± 2.0 versus 4.38 ± 2.2 points (p = 0.0159). Nausea and vomiting occurred with equal frequency in both groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Telemedical delegation of analgesics to paramedics was safe and led to a pain reduction superior to the published minimum standard in both groups. The documentation quality was better in the telemedicine group. WHAT DOES THIS STUDY ADD?: Little is known about the safety and quality of prehospital analgesia carried out by emergency medical services (EMS). Beside potential quality problems, in some countries meaningful pain reduction is limited by legal regulations that allow only physicians to administer analgesics. This first multicentre prospective trial for telemedically delegated analgesia demonstrates that remote analgesia is possible and safe and retains equivalent analgesic quality compared with that administered by onsite EMS physicians.

Uncontrolled donation after circulatory death: European practices and recommendations for the development and optimization of an effective programme

The shortage of organs remains one of the biggest challenges in transplantation. To address this, we are increasingly turning to donation after circulatory death (DCD) donors and now in some countries to uncontrolled DCD donors. We consolidate the knowledge on uncontrolled DCD in Europe and provide recommendations and guidance for the development and optimization of effective uncontrolled DCD programmes.

Influence of EMS-physician presence on survival after out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation: systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Evidence suggests that EMS-physician-guided cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OOHCA) may be associated with improved outcomes, yet randomized controlled trials are not available. The goal of this meta-analysis was to determine the association between EMS-physician- versus paramedic-guided CPR and survival after OOHCA.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Studies that compared EMS-physician- versus paramedic-guided CPR in OOHCA published until June 2014 were systematically searched in MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane databases. All studies were required to contain survival data. Data on study characteristics, methods, and as well as survival outcomes were extracted. A random-effects model was used for the meta-analysis due to a high degree of heterogeneity among the studies (I(2) = 44%). Return of spontaneous circulation [ROSC], survival to hospital admission, and survival to hospital discharge were the outcome measures. Out of 3,385 potentially eligible studies, 14 met the inclusion criteria. In the pooled analysis (n = 126,829), EMS-physician-guided CPR was associated with significantly improved outcomes compared to paramedic-guided CPR: ROSC 36.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 31.0 - 41.7%) vs. 23.4% (95% CI 18.5 - 29.2%) (pooled odds ratio [OR] 1.89, 95% CI 1.36 - 2.63, p < 0.001); survival to hospital admission 30.1 % (95% CI 24.2 - 36.7%) vs. 19.2% (95% CI 12.7 - 28.1%) (pooled OR 1.78, 95% CI 0.97 - 3.28, p = 0.06); and survival to discharge 15.1% (95% CI 14.6 - 15.7%) vs. 8.4% (95% CI 8.2 - 8.5%) (pooled OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.48 - 2.79, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

This systematic review suggests that EMS-physician-guided CPR in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is associated with improved survival outcomes.

Outcome following physician supervised prehospital resuscitation: a retrospective study

BACKGROUND

Prehospital care provided by specially trained, physician-based emergency services (P-EMS) is an integrated part of the emergency medical systems in many developed countries. To what extent P-EMS increases survival and favourable outcomes is still unclear. The aim of the study was thus to investigate ambulance runs initially assigned 'life-saving missions' with emphasis on long-term outcome in patients treated by the Mobile Emergency Care Unit (MECU) in Odense, Denmark

METHODS

All MECU runs are registered in a database by the attending physician, stating, among other parameters, the treatment given, outcome of the treatment and the patient's diagnosis. Over a period of 80 months from May 1 2006 to December 31 2012, all missions in which the outcome of the treatment was registered as 'life saving' were scrutinised. Initial outcome, level of competence of the caretaker and diagnosis of each patient were manually established in each case in a combined audit of the prehospital database, the discharge summary of the MECU and the medical records from the hospital. Outcome parameters were final outcome, the aetiology of the life-threatening condition and the level of competences necessary to treat the patient.

RESULTS

Of 25 647 patients treated by the MECU, 701 (2.7%) received prehospital 'life saving treatment'. In 596 (2.3%) patients this treatment exceeded the competences of the attending emergency medical technician or paramedic. Of these patients, 225 (0.9%) were ultimately discharged to their own home.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study demonstrates that anaesthesiologist administrated prehospital therapy increases the level of treatment modalities leading to an increased survival in relation to a prehospital system consisting of emergency medical technicians and paramedics alone and thus supports the concept of applying specialists in anaesthesiology in the prehospital setting especially when treating patients with cardiac arrest, patients in need of respiratory support and trauma patients.

[Mechanical resuscitation assist devices]

In Germany 100,000-160,000 people suffer from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) annually. The incidence of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) after OHCA varies between emergency ambulance services but is in the range of 30-90 CPR attempts per 100,000 inhabitants per year. Basic life support (BLS) involving chest compressions and ventilation is the key measure of resuscitation. Rapid initiation and quality of BLS are the most critical factors for CPR success. Even healthcare professionals are not always able to ensure the quality of CPR measures. Consequently in recent years mechanical resuscitation devices have been developed to optimize chest compression and the resulting circulation. In this article the mechanical resuscitation devices currently available in Germany are discussed and evaluated scientifically in context with available literature. The ANIMAX CPR device should not be used outside controlled trials as no clinical results have so far been published. The same applies to the new device Corpuls CPR which will be available on the market in early 2014. Based on the current published data a general recommendation for the routine use of LUCAS™ and AutoPulse® CPR cannot be given. The preliminary data of the CIRC trial and the published data of the LINC trial revealed that mechanical CPR is apparently equivalent to good manual CPR. For the final assessment further publications of large randomized studies must be analyzed (e.g. the CIRC and PaRAMeDIC trials). However, case control studies, case series and small studies have already shown that in special situations and in some cases patients will benefit from the automatic mechanical resuscitation devices (LUCAS™, AutoPulse®). This applies especially to emergency services where standard CPR quality is far below average and for patients who require prolonged CPR under difficult circumstances. This might be true in cases of resuscitation due to hypothermia, intoxication and pulmonary embolism as well as for patients requiring transport or coronary intervention when cardiac arrest persists. Three prospective randomized studies and the resulting meta-analysis are available for active compression-decompression resuscitation (ACD-CPR) in combination with an impedance threshold device (ITD). These studies compared ACD-ITD-CPR to standard CPR and clearly demonstrated that ACD-ITD-CPR is superior to standard CPR concerning short and long-term survival with good neurological recovery after OHCA.