• J. Pediatr. Surg. · Feb 2016

    Documentation of pediatric vital signs by EMS providers over time.

    • Hilary Hewes, Shari Hunsaker, Mathew Christensen, Jolene Whitney, Tia Dalrymple, and Peter Taillac.
    • Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah School of Medicine, 295 Chipeta Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, United States. Electronic address: Hilary.hewes@hsc.utah.edu.
    • J. Pediatr. Surg. 2016 Feb 1; 51 (2): 329-32.

    BackgroundPediatric patients make up approximately 10% of EMS transports nationwide. Previous studies demonstrated that pediatric patients do not consistently have a full set of vitals signs obtained in the prehospital setting [1]. In certain conditions, such as traumatic head injury and shock, unrecognized hypotension and/or hypoxia are associated with increased morbidity and mortality [2,3].ObjectivesPrimary ObjectiveTo measure how often EMS providers obtain blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), pulse oximetry (Po), and respiratory rate (RR) on pediatric transport patients in the state of Utah from 2007 to 2014.Secondary ObjectiveTo assess whether educational interventions improved the percentage of pediatric transport patients with a full set of vital signs documented.ResultsThe trend of documenting the four critical vital signs improved over time for all four categories. Measurement of Po increased most consistently across all age groups. Blood pressure remained the most inconsistently obtained vital sign, especially in younger pediatric patients. The educational interventions introduced in late 2010 correlated with an increase in vital sign attainment.ConclusionsAssessment of pediatric vitals signs is a critical part of the evaluation and care of pediatric patients in the prehospital setting. Utah EMS providers improved their practice of documenting four pediatric vital signs over time after educational interventions. Obtaining a BP, especially in younger children, continues to be a challenge. More work remains to achieve the state goal of documenting all vital signs in >90% of pediatric transports.Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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