An association between systolic blood pressure and stroke among patients with impaired consciousness in out-of-hospital emergency settings

Prehospital identification of intracerebral haemorrhage: a scoping review of early clinical features and portable devices

INTRODUCTION

Prehospital identification of intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) in suspected stroke cases may enable the initiation of appropriate treatments and facilitate better-informed transport decisions. This scoping review aims to examine the literature to identify early clinical features and portable devices for the detection of ICH in the prehospital setting.

METHODS

Three databases were searched via Ovid (MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL) from inception to August 2022 using prespecified search strategies. One reviewer screened all titles, abstracts and full-text articles for eligibility, while a second reviewer independently screened 20% of the literature during each screening stage. Data extracted were tabulated to summarise the key findings.

RESULTS

A total of 6803 articles were screened for eligibility, of which 22 studies were included for analysis. Among them, 15 studies reported on early clinical features, while 7 considered portable devices. Associations between age, sex and comorbidities with the presence of ICH varied across studies. However, most studies reported that patients with ICH exhibited more severe neurological deficits (n=6) and higher blood pressure levels (n=11) at onset compared with other stroke and non-stroke diagnoses. Four technologies were identified for ICH detection: microwave imaging technology, volumetric impedance phase shift spectroscopy, transcranial ultrasound and electroencephalography. Microwave and ultrasound imaging techniques showed promise in distinguishing ICH from other diagnoses.

CONCLUSION

This scoping review has identified potential clinical features for the identification of ICH in suspected stroke patients. However, the considerable heterogeneity among the included studies precludes meta-analysis of available data. Moreover, we have explored portable devices to enhance ICH identification. While these devices have shown promise in detecting ICH, further technological development is required to distinguish between stroke subtypes (ICH vs ischaemic stroke) and non-stroke diagnoses.

Effect of early mobilization in patients with stroke and severe disturbance of consciousness: Retrospective study

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness and safety of early mobilization with a physiatrist and registered therapist Operating rehabilitation (PROr) for patients with stroke and severe disturbance of consciousness (DoC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrospectively screened records from patients with stroke admitted to our hospital from January 2015 to June 2021. Eligible patients with severe DoC were classified into two groups: patients who received standard rehabilitation (control group) and patients who received PROr (PROr group). We studied longitudinal change in the level of consciousness using the Japan Coma Scale (JCS) during hospital stay and compared in-hospital mortality, the incidence of respiratory complication, and modified Rankin Scale of discharge between the two groups.

RESULTS

Among the 2191 patients screened for inclusion, 16 patients were included in the PROr group, and 12 patients were included in the control group. Early mobilization was more promoted in the PROr group compared to the control group, but there were no significant differences in in-hospital mortality, the incidence of respiratory complication, or modified Rankin Scale at discharge between the two groups. In patients who survived during their hospital stay, JCS scores 2 weeks after the onset of stroke and JCS scores at discharge significantly improved from the start of rehabilitation in the PROr group, but not in the control group.

CONCLUSIONS

Early mobilization provided with the PROr program appears to be a safe treatment and may contribute to the improvement of consciousness level for patients with acute stroke and severe DoC.

Influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on an emergency medical service system: a population-based, descriptive study in Osaka, Japan

Aim

Novel coronavirus infection (COVID‐19) was confirmed in Wuhan, China in December 2019, and the COVID‐19 pandemic has spread around the world. However, no clinical studies on the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on emergency medical service (EMS) systems have been carried out.

Methods

This was a retrospective study with a study period from 1 January 2020 to 14 April 2020. We included the patients transported by ambulance for acute diseases and traffic accidents in Osaka city, Japan. The main outcome of this study was the difficulty in hospital acceptance. We calculated the rate of difficulty of hospital acceptance for each month for acute diseases and traffic accidents.

Results

Between 1 January and 14 April 2020, 36,981 patients were transported to hospitals by ambulance for acute diseases and 3,096 patients for traffic accidents. There was no difference in the proportion of the difficulty in hospital acceptance due to traffic accidents between 2019 and 2020, but there was an increase in the proportion of the difficulty in hospital acceptance due to acute disease after the 13th week (25–31 March) of 2020 compared to that of 2019. The odds ratio in April was 2.17 (95% confidence interval, 1.84–2.58) for acute disease.

Conclusion

We assessed the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the EMS system in Osaka City, Japan and found that, since April 2020, the EMS system in Osaka City has been facing difficulty in terms of hospital acceptance of patients transported to hospital for acute diseases.

Gender disparities in the application of public-access AED pads among OHCA patients in public locations

BACKGROUND

Female out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients have been reported to be less likely to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation by bystanders compared with male patients in prehospital settings. However, no clinical studies have investigated gender disparities in the application of public-access automated external defibrillator (AED) pads among OHCA patients in public locations.

METHODS

OHCA data from 2011 to 2018 were obtained from the OHCA registry in Osaka City, Japan and OHCAs that occurred in public locations were included. Gender differences in receiving public-access AED pad application by bystanders were assessed according to the age of the OHCA patient (<15, 15-49, 50-74, and ≥75 years) after controlling confounders.

RESULTS

The analysis included 4358 OHCA patients (3313 male and 1045 female patients). The multivariable logistic regression analyses found no significant gender differences in the likelihood of public-access AED pad application among patients aged <15 years (5.3% in male patients vs 6.3% in female patients; adjusted OR = 1.00, p = 1.000), 50-74 years (16.8% vs 12.7%; adjusted OR = 0.96, p = 0.796), and ≥75 years (12.3% vs 14.8%; adjusted OR = 1.45, p = 0.098). In contrast, among patients aged 15-49 years, female patients were significantly less likely to receive public-access AED pad application compared with male patients (12.1% vs 5.2%; adjusted OR = 0.54, p = 0.032).

CONCLUSION

In this population, female OHCA patients of reproductive age (15-49 years) were less likely to receive public-access AED pad application compared with male patients of the same age group.

Prehospital characteristics, incidence trends, and outcome of emergency self-inflicted injury patients with gas substances: a population-based descriptive study in Osaka, Japan

AIM

Little is known about the detailed characteristics of patients using gas substances for self-inflicted injury in prehospital settings. The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics, incidence trends, and outcomes of patients who used gas substances for self-inflicted injury in Osaka City, Japan, using ambulance records.

METHODS

This was a retrospective observational study that used data from 2009 to 2015. We extracted details from ambulance records of self-inflicted injury patients who used gas substances. The annual incidence of self-inflicted injury by gas substance and age group and Poisson regression models were applied for calculating the annual incidence trend by type of gas substance. The main outcome was confirmed death at the scene, and we also calculated the crude odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for each gas substance.

RESULTS

During the study period, there were 324 self-inflicted injury patients who used gas substances. The most commonly used gases were carbon monoxide (CO) (54.9%), followed by hydrogen sulfide (12.7%), helium (6.5%). The incidence of CO and hydrogen sulfide have subsequently decreased (P for trend = 0.023 and <0.001, respectively); however, the incidence of helium did not change during the study period (P for trend = 0.586). The mortality rate was highest in patients who used helium (66.7% [14/21]) and the crude odds ratio of helium was 3.857 (95% confidence interval, 1.267-11.745; P = 0.017) compared with hydrogen sulfide.

CONCLUSION

This study revealed that the incidence of self-inflicted injury with helium did not change and its proportion of death at the scene was high in Osaka City.

Association of Japan Coma Scale score on hospital arrival with in-hospital mortality among trauma patients

Background

The Japan Coma Scale (JCS) score has been widely used to assess patients’ consciousness level in Japan. JCS scores are divided into four main categories: alert (0) and one-, two-, and three-digit codes based on an eye response test, each of which has three subcategories. The purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of the JCS score on hospital arrival in predicting outcomes among adult trauma patients.

Methods

Using the Japan Trauma Data Bank, we conducted a nationwide registry-based retrospective cohort study. Patients 16 years old or older directly transported from the trauma scene between January 2004 and December 2017 were included. Our primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. We examined outcome prediction accuracy based on area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and multiple logistic regression analysis with multiple imputation.

Results

A total of 222,540 subjects were included; their in-hospital mortality rate was 7.1% (n = 15,860). The 10-point scale JCS and the total sum of Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores demonstrated similar performance, in which the AUROC (95% CIs) showed 0.874 (0.871–0.878) and 0.878 (0.874–0.881), respectively. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the higher the JCS score, the higher the predictability of in-hospital death. When we focused on the simple four-point scale JCS score, the adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence intervals [CIs]) were 2.31 (2.12–2.45), 4.81 (4.42–5.24), and 27.88 (25.74–30.20) in the groups with one-digit, two-digit, and three-digit scores, respectively, with JCS of 0 as a reference category.

Conclusions

JCS score on hospital arrival after trauma would be useful for predicting in-hospital mortality, similar to the GCS score.

Profile of the ORION (Osaka emergency information Research Intelligent Operation Network system) between 2015 and 2016 in Osaka, Japan: a population-based registry of emergency patients with both ambulance and in-hospital records

Aim

To describe the registry design of the Osaka Emergency Information Research Intelligent Operation Network system (ORION) and its profile of hospital information, patient and emergency medical service characteristics, and in‐hospital outcomes among all patients transported to critical care centers and emergency hospitals in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.

Methods

The Osaka Prefecture Government has developed and introduced an information system for emergency patients (the ORION system) that uses a smartphone application (app) for hospital selection by on‐scene emergency medical service personnel and has been accumulating all ambulance records. Since January 2015, medical institutions have obtained information on the diagnosis and outcome of patients transported to medical institutions, and the ORION system merged these data with ambulance records including smartphone app data.

Results

From January 2015 to December 2016, 753,301 eligible patients were registered. The mean age was 58.7 years, and 51.5% of patients were male. After hospital arrival, 39.7% were hospitalized, 58.2% were discharged from hospital, 1.1% changed hospital, and 1.0% died. The most common diagnoses were injury, poisoning, and certain other consequences of external causes. Among the hospitalized patients, 29.2% were continuously hospitalized, 59.0% discharged, 5.2% changed hospital, and 5.8% were dead at 21 days after hospitalization. The most common confirmed diagnosis was diseases of the circulatory system.

Conclusion

Using the ORION system developed and operated by Osaka Prefecture since January 2015, we described the epidemiological data of all emergency patients transported to emergency hospitals. Analysis using the ORION database in the future could lead to improvements in the emergency transport system and patient outcomes.

Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) gene polymorphisms are associated with essential hypertension risk and blood pressure levels in Chinese Han population

In this case-control study, 246 EH patients and 157 healthy controls were selected from Chinese Han population to explore the associations between the fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) gene polymorphisms and essential hypertension (EH).The SequenomMassarray system was used for the genotyping of three FGF23 gene Tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms, namely rs7955866, rs13312756, and rs3812822. The primers were designed by Assay Designer 3.1 software, and then the samples were added to a 384-well plate for the polymerase chain reaction amplification, shrimp alkaline phosphatase reaction, and desalting after extension. The distributions of the alleles, genotypes, and haplotypes were compared between the two groups. Confounding factors (sex, age, BMI, smoking, and drinking) were adjusted in the non-logistic regression, and the results showed that rs7955866 and rs3812822 polymorphisms were independently associated with the risk of developing EH (P < 0.05). The statistical analysis of the haplotype of rs7955866-rs13312756-rs3812822 showed that haplotype ACC could increase the risk of developing EH (P = 0.046; OR = 1.513, 95%CI: 1.005-2.278). The analysis of the control group showed that carrying rs7955866 A allele (P = 0.031) and rs3812822 C allele (P = 0.025) was associated with the increase of systolic blood pressure (SBP). The insulin (INS) level in the peripheral blood was significantly different between the case and control groups (P = 0.014). After confounding factors were excluded, the results showed that the serum INS level was also an independent risk factor of developing EH (P = 0.044; OR = 1.604, 95%CI: 1.014-2.539). In summary, our results suggest that FGF23 gene polymorphisms are associated with the risk of developing EH in Chinese Han population.

Improvements in Patient Acceptance by Hospitals Following the Introduction of a Smartphone App for the Emergency Medical Service System: A Population-Based Before-and-After Observational Study in Osaka City, Japan

Background

Recently, the number of ambulance dispatches has been increasing in Japan, and it is therefore difficult for hospitals to accept emergency patients smoothly and appropriately because of the limited hospital capacity. To facilitate the process of requesting patient transport and hospital acceptance, an emergency information system using information technology (IT) has been built and introduced in various communities. However, its effectiveness has not been thoroughly revealed. We introduced a smartphone app system in 2013 that enables emergency medical service (EMS) personnel to share information among themselves regarding on-scene ambulances and the hospital situation.

Objective

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of introducing this smartphone app on the EMS system in Osaka City, Japan.

Methods

This retrospective study analyzed the population-based ambulance records of Osaka Municipal Fire Department. The study period was 6 years, from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2015. We enrolled emergency patients for whom on-scene EMS personnel conducted hospital selection. The main endpoint was the difficulty experienced in gaining hospital acceptance at the scene. The definition of difficulty was making ≥5 phone calls by EMS personnel at the scene to hospitals until a decision to transport was determined. The smartphone app was introduced in January 2013, and we compared the patients treated from 2010 to 2012 (control group) with those treated from 2013 to 2015 (smartphone app group) using an interrupted time-series analysis to assess the effects of introducing this smartphone app.

Results

A total of 600,526 emergency patients for whom EMS personnel selected hospitals were eligible for our analysis. There were 300,131 emergency patients in the control group (50.00%, 300,313/600,526) from 2010 to 2012 and 300,395 emergency patients in the smartphone app group (50.00%, 300,395/600,526) from 2013 to 2015. The rate of difficulty in hospital acceptance was 14.19% (42,585/300,131) in the control group and 10.93% (32,819/300,395) in the smartphone app group. No change over time in the number of difficulties in hospital acceptance was found before the introduction of the smartphone app (regression coefficient: −2.43, 95% CI −5.49 to 0.64), but after its introduction, the number of difficulties in hospital acceptance gradually decreased by month (regression coefficient: −11.61, 95% CI −14.57 to −8.65).

Conclusions

Sharing information between an ambulance and a hospital by using the smartphone app at the scene was associated with decreased difficulty in obtaining hospital acceptance. Our app and findings may be worth considering in other areas of the world where emergency medical information systems with IT are needed.

Emergency Department Vital Signs and Outcomes After Discharge

OBJECTIVE

Vital signs are critical markers of illness severity in the emergency department (ED). Providers need to understand the abnormal vital signs in older adults that are problematic. We hypothesized that in patients age > 65 years discharged from the ED, there are abnormal vital signs that are associated with an admission to an inpatient bed within 7 days of discharge.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from a regional integrated health system of members age > 65 years during the years 2009 to 2010. We used univariate contingency tables to assess the relationship between hospital admission within 7 days of discharge and vital sign (including systolic blood pressure [sBP], heart rate [HR], body temperature, and pulse oximetry [SpO₂ ] values measured closest to discharge) using standard thresholds for abnormal and thresholds derived from the study data.

RESULTS

Of 104,025 ED discharges, 4,638 (4.5%) were followed by inpatient admission within 7 days. Vital signs had a greater odds of admission beyond a single cutoff. The vital signs with at least twice the odds of admission were sBP < 97 mm Hg (odds ratio [OR] = 2.02, 95% CI = 1.57-2.60), HR > 101 beats/min (OR = 2.00 95% CI = 1.75-2.29), body temperature > 37.3°C (OR = 2.14, 95% CI = 1.90-2.41), and pulse oximetry < 92 SpO₂ (OR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.55-2.68). Patients with two vital sign abnormalities per the analysis had the highest odds of admission. A majority of patients discharged with abnormal vital signs per the analysis were not admitted within 7 days of ED discharge.

CONCLUSION

While we found a majority of patients discharged with abnormal vital signs as defined by the analysis, not to be admitted after discharge, we identified vital signs associated with at least twice the odds of admission.

Factors associated with the difficulty in hospital acceptance at the scene by emergency medical service personnel: a population-based study in Osaka City, Japan

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the association between the difficulty in hospital acceptance at the scene by emergency medical service (EMS) personnel and prehospital demographic factors and reasons for EMS calls.

DESIGN

A retrospective, observational study.

SETTING

Osaka City, Japan.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 100 649 patients transported to medical institutions by EMS from January 2013 to December 2013.

PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS

The definition of difficulty in hospital acceptance at the scene was EMS personnel making ≥5 phone calls to medical institutions until a decision to transport was determined. Multivariable analysis was used to assess the relationship between difficulty in hospital acceptance and prehospital factors and reasons for EMS calls.

RESULTS

Multivariable analysis showed the elderly, foreigners, loss of consciousness, holiday/weekend, and night-time to be positively associated with difficulty in hospital acceptance at the scene. As reasons for EMS calls, gas poisoning (adjusted OR 3.281, 95% CI 1.201 to 8.965), trauma by assault (adjusted OR 2.662, 95% CI 2.390 to 2.966), self-induced drug abuse/gas poisoning (adjusted OR 4.527, 95% CI 3.921 to 5.228) and self-induced trauma (adjusted OR 1.708, 95% CI 1.369 to 2.130) were positively associated with the difficulty in hospital acceptance at the scene.

CONCLUSIONS

Ambulance records in Osaka City showed that certain prehospital factors such as night-time were positively associated with difficulty in hospital acceptance at the scene, and reasons for EMS calls, such as self-induced drug abuse/gas poisoning, were also positive predictors for difficulty in hospital acceptance at the scene.

Prehospital systolic blood pressure is higher in acute stroke compared with stroke mimics

OBJECTIVE

To assess the natural history of prehospital blood pressure (BP) during emergency medical services (EMS) transport of suspected stroke and determine whether prehospital BP differs among types of patients with suspected stroke (ischemic stroke, TIA, intracerebral hemorrhage [ICH], or stroke mimic).

METHODS

A retrospective, cross-sectional, observational analysis of a centralized EMS database containing electronic records of patients transported by EMS to the emergency department (ED) with suspected stroke during an 18-month period was conducted. Hospital charts and neuroimaging were utilized to determine the final diagnosis (ischemic stroke, TIA, ICH, or stroke mimic).

RESULTS

A total of 960 patients were transported by EMS to ED with suspected stroke. Stroke was diagnosed in 544 patients (56.7%) (38.2% ischemic stroke, 12.2% TIA, 5.3% ICH) and 416 (43.2%) were considered mimics. Age-adjusted mean prehospital systolic BP (SBP) was higher in acute stroke patients (155.6 mm Hg; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 153.4-157.9 mm Hg) compared to mimics (146.1 mm Hg; 95% CI: 142.5-148.6 mm Hg; p < 0.001). Age-adjusted mean prehospital SBP was higher in ICH (172.3 mm Hg; 95% CI: 165.1-179.7 mm Hg) than in either ischemic stroke or TIA (154.7 mm Hg; 95% CI: 152.3-157.0 mm Hg; p < 0.001). Median (interquartile range) SBP drop from initial prehospital SBP to ED SBP was 4 mm Hg (-6 to 17 mm Hg). Mean prehospital SBP was strongly correlated with ED SBP (r = 0.82, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Prehospital SBP is higher in acute stroke relative to stroke mimics and highest in ICH. Given the stability of BP between initial EMS and ED measurements, it may be reasonable to test the feasibility and safety of prehospital antihypertensive therapy in patients with suspected acute stroke.

Patient characteristics affecting stroke identification by emergency medical service providers in Brooklyn, New York

Early identification of stroke should begin in the prehospital phase because the benefits of thrombolysis and clot extraction are time dependent. This study aims to identify patient characteristics that affect prehospital identification of stroke by Long Island college hospital (LICH) emergency medical services (EMS). All suspected strokes brought to LICH by LICH ambulances from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2011 were included in the study. We compared prehospital care report-based diagnosis against the get with the guidelines (GWTG) database. Age-adjusted logistic regression models were used to study that the effect of individual patient characteristics have on EMS providers' diagnosis. Included in the study were 10,384 patients with mean age 43.9 years. Of whom, 75 had a GWTG cerebrovascular diagnosis: 53 were ischemic strokes, 7 transient ischemic attacks, 3 subarachnoid hemorrhage, and 12 intercerebral bleeds. LICH EMS correctly identified 44 of 75 GWTG strokes. Fifty-one patients were overcalled as stroke by the EMS. Overall EMS sensitivity was 58.7 % and specificity was 99.5 %. Dispatcher call type of altered mental status, stroke, unconsciousness, and increasing prehospital blood pressure quartile were found to be significantly predictive of a true stroke diagnosis. Patients with a past medical history and EMS providers' impression of seizures were more likely to be overcalled as a stroke in the field. More than a third of actual stroke patients were missed in the field in our study. Our results show that the patients' past medical history, dispatcher collected information and prehospital vital sign measurements are associated with a true diagnosis of stroke.

Effectiveness of prehospital Magill forceps use for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest due to foreign body airway obstruction in Osaka City

BACKGROUND

Although foreign body airway obstruction (FBAO) accounts for many preventable unintentional accidents, little is known about the epidemiology of FBAO patients and the effect of forceps use on those patients. This study aimed to assess characteristics of FBAO patients transported to hospitals by emergency medical service (EMS) personnel, and to verify the relationship between prehospital Magill forceps use and outcomes among out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) patients with FBAO.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed ambulance records of all patients who suffered FBAO, and were treated by EMS in Osaka City from 2000 through 2007, and assessed the characteristics of those patients. We also performed a multivariate logistic-regression analysis to assess factors associated with neurologically favorable survival among bystander-witnessed OHCA patients with FBAO in larynx or pharynx.

RESULTS

A total of 2,354 patients suffered from FBAO during the study period. There was a bimodal distribution by age among infants and old adults. Among them, 466 (19.8%) had an OHCA when EMS arrived at the scene, and 344 were witnessed by bystanders. In the multivariate analysis, Magill forceps use for OHCA with FBAO in larynx or pharynx was an independent predictor of neurologically favorable survival (16.4% [24/146] in the Magill forceps use group versus 4.3% [4/94] in the non-use group; adjusted odds ratio, 3.96 [95% confidence interval, 1.21-13.00], p = 0.023).

CONCLUSIONS

From this large registry in Osaka, we revealed that prehospital Magill forceps use was associated with the improved outcome of bystander-witnessed OHCA patients with FBAO.