Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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Multicenter Study
Interactive Effect between On-Scene Hypoxia and Hypotension on Hospital Mortality and Disability in Severe Trauma.
It is unclear whether effect size of the hypoxia is different on in-hospital mortality and disability according to hypotension status in the field. ⋯ The effect of hypoxia was much greater in the hypotensive group than in the non-hypotensive group both in terms of mortality and disability.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Qualitative Evaluation of the Coach Training within a Community Paramedicine Care Transitions Intervention.
The Care Transitions Intervention (CTI) has potential to improve the emergency department (ED)-to-home transition for older adults. Community paramedics may function as the CTI coaches; however, this requires the appropriate knowledge, skills, and attitudes, which they do not receive in traditional emergency medical services (EMS) education. This study aimed to define community paramedics' perceptions regarding their training needs to serve as CTI coaches supporting the ED-to-home transition. ⋯ Paramedics as CTI coaches represent an untapped resource for supporting ED-to-home care transitions. Our results provide the necessary first step to make the community paramedic CTI coach more successful. These findings may apply to training for similar community paramedicine roles, but additional research must investigate this possibility.
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Are 9-1-1 ambulances relatively late to poorer neighborhoods? Studies suggesting so often rely on weak measures of neighborhood (e.g., postal zip code), limit the analysis to particular ambulance encounters (e.g., cardiac arrest responses), and do little to account for variations in dispatch priority or intervention severity. ⋯ Our study challenges the commonly held assumption that ambulances are later to poor neighborhoods. We scrutinize our findings before cautiously considering their relevance for ambulance response time research and for ongoing conversations on the relationship between neighborhood poverty and prehospital care.
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Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with a substantial number of emergency department visits annually and is responsible for a significant number of lives lost each year in the United States. However, a minimal amount is known about the impact of alcohol on the EMS system. ⋯ Compared to 9-1-1 calls that do not involve alcohol, alcohol-related calls are more likely to involve male patients, emergent response, traumatic injuries, advanced monitoring, airway adjuncts, and medications for sedation. This represents a significant burden on the emergency system and society. Further studies are needed to evaluate whether additional interventions such as social services could be used to lessen this burden.
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Observational Study
Pediatric Anaphylaxis in the Prehospital Setting: Incidence, Characteristics, and Management.
Although hospital presentations for pediatric anaphylaxis have been described in the literature, a minimal amount is known regarding the incidence, characteristics, and management of pediatric anaphylaxis presenting to emergency medical services (EMS). ⋯ The incidence of prehospital pediatric anaphylaxis is increasing significantly. Despite this, most patients are hemodynamically stable on presentation and few require emergency treatments beyond the administration of intramuscular epinephrine.