Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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Introduction: Telehealth has been used nominally for trauma, neurological, and cardiovascular incidents in prehospital emergency medical services (EMS). Yet, much less is known about the use of telehealth for low-acuity primary care. We examine the development of one telehealth program and its impact on unnecessary ambulance transports. ⋯ Conclusions: We found telehealth offers a technology strategy to address potentially unnecessary ambulance transports. Based on prior cost-effectiveness analyses, the reduction of unnecessary ambulance transports translates to an overall reduction in EMS agency costs. Telehealth programs offer a viable solution to support alternate destination and alternate transport programs.
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Introduction: Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers may identify and preferentially transport patients experiencing large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke to appropriate treatment centers. The Rapid Arterial oCclusion Evaluation (RACE) scale was created for prehospital LVO detection, yet few studies have evaluated its function in real-world EMS settings. Our objective was to assess the prehospital performance of the RACE scale for detecting LVO stroke following implementation at a large suburban/rural agency in the United States. ⋯ A RACE score ≥5 for both LVO and ICH demonstrated sensitivity: 63%, specificity: 77%, PPV: 47% and NPV: 86%. Conclusion: The RACE scale demonstrated acceptable discrimination, yet the sensitivity and positive predictive value were lower in this cohort of EMS professionals in the United States than in the original validation study conducted in Spain. Further work is needed to determine the optimal prehospital screening tool for identification of LVO.
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Objective: While widely used in the treatment of cardiac conditions, only limited data characterize out-of-hospital nitroglycerin (NTG) use. We sought to determine the safety of out-of-hospital sublingual NTG administered for suspected ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and its effect on the patient's pain score. Methods: We prospectively identified adult patients with suspected STEMI transported by paramedics to three percutaneous Coronary Intervention PCI-capable hospitals in a large urban-suburban emergency medical services (EMS) system. ⋯ For patients with an initial pain score > 0, the average change in pain score for patients treated with NTG was -2.6 (95% CI -3.0, -2.2), while patients who did not receive NTG had a change in pain score of -1.4 (95% CI -1.8, -1.0). Conclusion: In this cohort, field NTG did not result in a clinically significant decrease in blood pressure when compared with patients who did not receive NTG. However, NTG did cause a clinically significant reduction in pain.
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Objective: Dual sequential defibrillation (DSD) - successive defibrillations with two defibrillators - offers a novel approach to refractory ventricular fibrillation (RVF) and tachycardia (VF/VT). While associated with rescue shock success, the effect of DSD upon out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is unknown. We evaluated the association of DSD with survival after refractory VF/VT OHCA. ⋯ Conclusions: Compared with conventional defibrillation, DSD was associated with lower odds of prehospital ROSC. Defibrillation type was not associated with other OHCA endpoints. DSD may not be beneficial in refractory VF/VT OHCA.
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Objectives: Pediatric behavioral health disorders and related emergency department visits are increasing, but effects on emergency medical services (EMS) are unknown. This study's objective was to describe the statewide epidemiology of pediatric behavioral health-related EMS encounters in Florida, including mental health and substance use. Methods: This analysis is a retrospective study of pediatric behavioral health-related EMS encounters from Florida's statewide EMS Tracking and Reporting Systems Database from 2011 to 2016. ⋯ Conclusions: Pediatric behavioral-health related EMS encounters had a significant proportion of suspected ingestions/substance use, and we found disproportionate effects on rural agencies. Increases in EMS resource utilization (including longer EMS times) occurred in certain settings with limited behavioral health infrastructure. Those findings suggest an opportunity for community paramedicine to alleviate EMS utilization and decrease the frequency of pediatric behavioral health emergencies.