Emergency medical service response for cases of stroke-suspected seizure: A population-based study

OBJECTIVES

We evaluated the on-scene time of emergency medical services (EMS) for cases where discrimination between acute stroke and epileptic seizures at the initial examination was difficult and identified factors linked to delays in such scenarios.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A retrospective review of cases with suspected seizure using the EMS database of fire departments across six Japanese cities between 2016 and 2021 was conducted. Patient classification was based on transport codes. We defined cases with stroke-suspected seizure as those in whom epileptic seizure was difficult to differentiate from stroke and evaluated their EMS on-scene time compared to those with epileptic seizures.

RESULTS

Among 30,439 cases with any seizures, 292 cases of stroke-suspected seizure and 8,737 cases of epileptic seizure were included. EMS on-scene time in cases of stroke-suspected seizure was shorter than in those with epileptic seizure after propensity score matching (15.1±7.2 min vs. 17.0±9.0 min; p = 0.007). Factors associated with delays included transport during nighttime (odds ratio [OR], 1.73, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.02-2.93, p = 0.041) and transport during the 2020-2021 pandemic (OR, 1.77, 95 % CI 1.08-2.90, p = 0.022).

CONCLUSION

This study highlighted the difference between the characteristics in EMS for stroke and epileptic seizure by evaluating the response to cases with stroke-suspected seizure. Facilitating prompt and smooth transfers of such cases to an appropriate medical facility after admission could optimize the operation of specialized medical resources.

Association between prehospital time and in-hospital outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrests according to resuscitation outcomes consortium epidemiologic registry

INTRODUCTION

For out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs), time is of the essence. While the relationship between EMS response time (ERT) and OHCA outcomes is well studied, a more comprehensive assessment of the effects of other intervention time is needed, which is essential to guide clinical practice.

OBJECTIVES

Evaluating how a longer total pre-hospital time (TPT), ERT, advance life support response time (ART) and EMS cardiopulmonary resuscitation time (ECT) increase the mortality rates, unfavorable neurological outcomes, and severe complications at discharge of OHCAs.

METHODS

31,926 OHCAs from the USA and Canada were identified in Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium Epidemiologic Registry. Twelve adjusted models were used to analyze the relationship between the prehospital time (TPT, ERT, ART and ECT) and three outcomes (in hospital mortality, unfavorable neurological outcomes, and severe complications for surviving OHCAs).

RESULTS

Every 10-min increase in TPT was associated with a 0.14-fold increase in the risk of death (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.14, 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 1.10-1.17) and a 0.13-fold increase of adverse neurological outcomes (OR = 1.13, CI =1.08-1.18). The risk of patient mortality markedly increased with every 5 min increase in ERT (OR = 1.36, CI = 1.26-1.47), ART (OR =1.10, CI = 1.06-1.15), and ECT (OR = 1.46, CI = 1.37-1.56). Adverse neurological outcome was associated with ERT and ECT, and severe complications with ERT and ART.

CONCLUSION

Prolonged prehospital time, particularly ERT and ECT, are closely associated with in-hospital mortality, unfavorable neurological functions, and severe complications at discharge in OHCAs.

Association between dispatch complaint and critical prehospital time intervals in suspected stroke 911 activations in the National Emergency Medical Services Information System, 2012-2016

OBJECTIVE

Emergency Medical Services can help improve stroke outcomes by recognizing stroke symptoms, establishing response priority for 911 calls, and minimizing prehospital delays. This study examines 911 stroke events and evaluates associations between events dispatched as stroke and critical EMS time intervals.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data from the National Emergency Medical Services Information System, 2012 to 2016, were analyzed. Activations from 911 calls with a primary or secondary provider impression of stroke were included for adult patients transported to a hospital destination. Three prehospital time intervals were evaluated: (1) response time (RT) ≤8 min, (2) on-scene time (OST) ≤15 min, and (3) transport time (TT) ≤12 min. Associations between stroke dispatch complaint and prehospital time intervals were assessed using multivariate regression to estimate adjusted risk ratios (ARR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS

Approximately 37% of stroke dispatch complaints were identified by EMS as a suspected stroke. Compared to stroke events without a stroke dispatch complaint, median OST was shorter for events with a stroke dispatch (16 min vs. 14 min, respectively). In adjusted analyses, events dispatched as stroke were more likely to meet the EMS time benchmark for OST ≤15 min (OST, 1.20 [1.20-1.21]), but not RT or TT (RT, [1.00-1.01]; TT, 0.95 [0.94-0.95]).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicate that dispatcher recognition of stroke symptoms reduces the time spent on-scene by EMS personnel. These findings can inform future EMS stroke education and quality improvement efforts to emphasize dispatcher recognition of stroke signs and symptoms, as EMS dispatchers play a crucial role in optimizing the prehospital response.

Prehospital time and mortality in polytrauma patients: a retrospective analysis

Background

The time from injury to treatment is considered as one of the major determinants for patient outcome after trauma. Previous studies already attempted to investigate the correlation between prehospital time and trauma patient outcome. However, the outcome for severely injured patients is not clear yet, as little data is available from prehospital systems with both Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and physician staffed Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS). Therefore, the aim was to investigate the association between prehospital time and mortality in polytrauma patients in a Dutch level I trauma center.

Methods

A retrospective study was performed using data derived from the Dutch trauma registry of the National Network for Acute Care from Amsterdam UMC location VUmc over a 2-year period. Severely injured polytrauma patients (Injury Severity Score (ISS) ≥ 16), who were treated on-scene by EMS or both EMS and HEMS and transported to our level I trauma center, were included. Patient characteristics, prehospital time, comorbidity, mechanism of injury, type of injury, HEMS assistance, prehospital Glasgow Coma Score and ISS were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. The outcome measure was in-hospital mortality.

Results

In total, 342 polytrauma patients were included in the analysis. The total mortality rate was 25.7% (n = 88). Similar mean prehospital times were found between the surviving and non-surviving patient groups, 45.3 min (SD 14.4) and 44.9 min (SD 13.2) respectively (p = 0.819). The confounder-adjusted analysis revealed no significant association between prehospital time and mortality (p = 0.156).

Conclusion

This analysis found no association between prehospital time and mortality in polytrauma patients. Future research is recommended to explore factors of influence on prehospital time and mortality.

Physician-led prehospital management is associated with reduced mortality in severe blunt trauma patients: a retrospective analysis of the Japanese nationwide trauma registry

BACKGROUND

Although the results of previous studies suggested the effectiveness of physician-led prehospital trauma management, it has been uncertain because of the limited number of high-quality studies. Furthermore, the advantage of physician-led prehospital management might have been overestimated due to the shortened prehospital time by helicopter transportation in some studies. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of physician-led prehospital management independent of prehospital time. Also, subgroup analysis was performed to explore the subpopulation that especially benefit from physician-led prehospital management.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study analyzed the data of Japan's nationwide trauma registry. Severe blunt trauma patients, defined by Injury Severity Score (ISS) ≥16, who were transported directly to a hospital between April 2009 and March 2019 were evaluated. In-hospital mortality was compared between groups dichotomized by the occupation of primary prehospital healthcare provider (i.e., physician or paramedic), using 1:4 propensity score-matched analysis. The propensity score was calculated using potential confounders including patient demographics, mechanism of injury, vital signs at the scene of injury, ISS, and total time from injury to hospital arrival. Subpopulations that especially benefit from physician-led prehospital management were explored by assessing interaction effects between physician-led prehospital management and patient characteristics.

RESULTS

A total of 30,551 patients (physician-led: 2976, paramedic-led: 27,575) were eligible for analysis, of whom 2690 propensity score-matched pairs (physician-led: 2690, paramedic-led: 10,760) were generated and compared. Physician-led group showed significantly decreased in-hospital mortality than paramedic-led group (in-hospital mortality: 387 [14.4%] and 1718 [16.0%]; odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 0.88 [0.78-1.00], p = 0.044). Patients with age < 65 years, ISS ≥25, Abbreviated Injury Scale in pelvis and lower extremities ≥3, and total prehospital time < 60 min were likely to benefit from physician-led prehospital management.

CONCLUSIONS

Physician-led prehospital trauma management was significantly associated with reduced in-hospital mortality independent of prehospital time. The findings of exploratory subgroup analysis would be useful for the future research to establish efficient dispatch system of physician team.

A scoping review of worldwide studies evaluating the effects of prehospital time on trauma outcomes

BACKGROUND

Annually, over 1 billion people sustain traumatic injuries, resulting in over 900,000 deaths in Africa and 6 million deaths globally. Timely response, intervention, and transportation in the prehospital setting reduce morbidity and mortality of trauma victims. Our objective was to describe the existing literature evaluating trauma morbidity and mortality outcomes as a function of prehospital care time to identify gaps in literature and inform future investigation.

MAIN BODY

We performed a scoping review of published literature in MEDLINE. Results were limited to English language publications from 2009 to 2020. Included articles reported trauma outcomes and prehospital time. We excluded case reports, reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, comments, editorials, letters, and conference proceedings. In total, 808 articles were identified for title and abstract review. Of those, 96 articles met all inclusion criteria and were fully reviewed. Higher quality studies used data derived from trauma registries. There was a paucity of literature from studies in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), with only 3 (3%) of articles explicitly including African populations. Mortality was an outcome measure in 93% of articles, predominantly defined as "in-hospital mortality" as opposed to mortality within a specified time frame. Prehospital time was most commonly assessed as crude time from EMS dispatch to arrival at a tertiary trauma center. Few studies evaluated physiologic morbidity outcomes such as multi-organ failure.

CONCLUSION

The existing literature disproportionately represents high-income settings and most commonly assessed in-hospital mortality as a function of crude prehospital time. Future studies should focus on how specific prehospital intervals impact morbidity outcomes (e.g., organ failure) and mortality at earlier time points (e.g., 3 or 7 days) to better reflect the effect of early prehospital resuscitation and transport. Trauma registries may be a tool to facilitate such research and may promote higher quality investigations in Africa and LMICs.

Time-to-reperfusion in patients with acute myocardial infarction and mortality in prehospital emergency care: meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

People living in rural areas usually suffer comparatively disadvantaged emergency health care than those living in urban areas, reasons including long transit time due to geographic factors. As for many time critical diseases, it is necessary to obtain treatment as quickly as possible.

METHODS

Screening of eligible studies were conducted based on inclusion an exclusion criteria. A comprehensive search was conducted by using following database: EMBASE, Medline, Cochrane library and Scopus. Quality assessment tool for observational cohort and cross-sectional study is used for assessing the risk of bias. The time group were defined based on the median or mean transit time among patients. In symptom onset-balloon time, we take 120 min transit time as the standard so patients in included studies are divided into two groups:less than 120 min (group A) and more than 120 min (group B). The collected data were used for quantitative analysis, they were inputted into Review Manager Software (v5.3) to produce summary results.

RESULTS

Ten studies representing 71,099 patients were included in the meta-analysis. All studies were retrospective and prospective observational studies and RCTs in which patients experienced ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and were treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Random effects meta-analysis of the point estimate was 0.69 (CI 0.60, 0.79). Heterogeneity between study results was evaluated via examination of the forest plots and quantified by using I2 statistic. Heterogeneity in two stage time was moderate among studies (I2 = 29%, P = 0.23).

CONCLUSION

The meta-analysis for included studies report less mortality in less than 120 min symptom onset-balloon and door-balloon time than that in more than 120 min. It is necessary to optimize the prehospital system for rapid decision making and logical destination and mode of transport with prehospital notification of the cath lab so that the hospital is ready to optimize door to balloon time.

Prehospital times and outcomes of patients who had hypotension at the scene after trauma: A nationwide multicentre retrospective study

BACKGROUND

We aimed to investigate the association between prehospital times and outcomes of patients who had hypotension at the scene after trauma incidents.

METHODS

We retrospectively analysed records from a nationwide database (2004-2017) of adults (aged ≥15 years) who were hypotensive (systolic blood pressure <90 mmHg) at the scene after trauma. The endpoint was in-hospital mortality. We used multivariable logistic regression analysis to adjust for confounding factors and to estimate the odds ratio (OR) of prehospital times for in-hospital mortality. Stratified analyses were performed based on patient age and type and severity of the trauma.

RESULTS

Among 5,499 patients included, 906 (16.5%) died in the hospital. The median Injury Severity Score (ISS) was 17 (interquartile range, 9-29). There was a significant trend towards patients having higher in-hospital mortality and ISS when their prehospital times were shorter (P < 0.001). However, the association between prehospital times and in-hospital mortality was not significant after adjusting for confounding factors, with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.00 (95% confidence interval: 0.98-1.01) per 10 min increments in prehospital time. The association remained insignificant when patients were stratified according to age and type and severity of the trauma.

CONCLUSIONS

Our analysis revealed that prehospital time was not significantly associated with in-hospital mortality among patients who had hypotension at the scene after trauma in the current emergency medical service system in Japan. Further studies are needed to validate our findings.