Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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Objective: The ideal number of emergency medical services (EMS) providers needed on-scene during an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) resuscitation is unknown. Our objective was to evaluate the association between the number of providers on-scene and OHCA outcomes. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of adults (≥18 years old) with non-traumatic OHCA from a 10-site North American prospective cardiac arrest registry (Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium) including a 2005-2011 cohort and a 2011-2015 cohort. ⋯ Survival to hospital discharge (95% CI) was higher with 9 or more providers on-scene (17.2% [15.8-18.5] and 14.0% [12.6-15.4]) compared to 7-8 (14.1% [13.4-14.8] and 10.5% [9.9-11.1]), 5-6 (10.0% [9.5-10.5] and 8.5% [8.1-8.9]), 3-4 (10.5% [9.3-11.6] and 9.3% [8.5-10.1]), and 1-2 (8.6% [7.2-10.0] and 8.0% [7.1-9.0]) providers for the 2005-2011 and 2011-2015 cohorts, respectively. In multivariable logistic regressions, compared to 5-6 providers, there were no significant differences in survival to hospital discharge for 1-2 or 3-4 providers, while having 7-8 (adjusted odds ratios (aORs) 1.53 [1.39-1.67] and 1.31 [1.20-1.44]) and 9 or more (aORs 1.76 [1.56-1.98] and 1.63 [1.41-1.89]) providers were associated with improved survival in both the 2005-2011 and 2011-2015 cohorts, respectively. Conclusions: The presence of seven or more prehospital providers on-scene was associated with significantly greater adjusted odds of survival to hospital discharge after OHCA compared to fewer on-scene providers.
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Background: ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a common cause of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). For these patients, urgent angiography and revascularization is an important treatment goal. There is a lack of data on the prognosis of STEMI patients after OHCA, who are diagnosed and treated by paramedics prior to hospital transport for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). ⋯ The corresponding figures for those without OHCA were 1.6%, 1.8% and 3.3%, respectively. Conclusions: Survival in paramedic-identified STEMI patients treated with primary PCI following OHCA resuscitation was high. Rapid angiography and reperfusion are critical in these patients.
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Objective: Southern California Naval hospitals incur substantial costs through the use of civilian emergency medical services (EMS) as they lack an internal transportation team. This study aimed to quantify the volume and the associated charges for these transports in the Southern California area as these are currently unknown. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of de-identified billing claims accessed through the Military Health System Management Analysis and Reporting Tool (M2) system. ⋯ TRICARE paid $3,872,057 in 2018 and $4,004,996 in 2019 for a total of $7,877,053 spent on ambulance transport over the 2 years analyzed. Outside health insurance paid $10,217,016 over the same timeframe for these same claims. Conclusion: The interfacility transport costs incurred between NMCSD and NHCP are substantial, possibly leaving room for cost savings to be determined by further studies.
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Background: The current epidemic of opioid overdoses in the United States necessitates a robust public health and clinical response. We described patterns of non-fatal opioid overdoses (NFOODs) in a small western region using data from the 9-1-1 Computer Assisted Dispatch (CAD) record and electronic Patient Clinical Records (ePCR) completed by EMS responders. We determined whether CAD and ePCR variables could identify NFOOD cases in 9-1-1 data for intervention and surveillance efforts. ⋯ Conclusion: CAD problem type variables and naloxone administration, used alone or in combination, had sub-optimal predictive accuracy. However, a Random Forests modeling approach improved accuracy of identification, which could foster improved surveillance and intervention efforts. We identified the set of NFOODs that EMS encountered in a year and may be useful for future surveillance efforts.
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Background: Early readmissions following hospital discharge for heart failure (HF) remain a major concern. Among the various strategies designed to reduce readmissions, home evaluations have been observed to have a favorable impact. We assessed the feasibility of integrating community paramedics into the outpatient management of HF patients. ⋯ Signals of effectiveness for reducing early readmissions were observed. Obstacles to creating an effective paramedic "House Calls" program were identified. A randomized trial is required to assess the value of this care process and its impact on early readmissions in patients with Stage C and Stage D HF.