Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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Studies of adult hospital patients have identified medical errors as a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Little is known about the frequency and nature of pediatric patient safety events in the out-of-hospital setting. We sought to quantify pediatric patient safety events in EMS and identify patient, call, and care characteristics associated with potentially severe events. ⋯ During high-risk out-of-hospital care of pediatric patients, safety events are common, potentially severe, and largely preventable. Infants and those requiring resuscitation are important areas of focus to reduce out-of-hospital pediatric patient safety events.
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Exertional heat stroke (EHS) is one of the most common causes of sudden death in athletes. It also represents a unique medical challenge to the prehospital healthcare provider due to the time sensitive nature of treatment. ⋯ The purpose of this document is to present a paradigm for prehospital healthcare systems to minimize the risk of morbidity and mortality for EHS patients. With proper planning, EHS can be managed successfully by the prehospital healthcare provider.
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Observational Study
Response by Twin Italian Hub Hospitals in a Double Seismic Event: A Retrospective Observational Investigation.
The objectives of this study were to compare prevalence rates of different pathologies, ambulance system and emergency department management times, and patient survival and hazard ratios for codes 2 and 3 in two hub hospitals in Modena in the 36-month period across the stages of two major earthquakes in short sequence in Northern Italy in 2012. ⋯ The Modena medical system was redundant and ensured that disrupted emergency systems were reorganized and put back online while damaged hospital facilities were compensated for/reproduced elsewhere.