Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
-
Early activation of emergency medical services (EMS), rapid transport, and treatment of patients experiencing ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) can improve outcomes. The Singapore Myocardial Infarction Registry (SMIR) is a nation-wide registry that collects data on STEMI. We aimed to determine the prevalence, predictors, and outcomes of EMS utilization among STEMI patients presenting to Emergency Departments (ED) in Singapore. ⋯ Less than half of STEMI patients utilized EMS and EMS patients had faster receipt of initial reperfusion therapies. Targeted public education to reduce time to treatment may improve the care of STEMI patients.
-
Language barriers are commonly encountered in the prehospital setting but there is a paucity of research on how prehospital providers address language discordance. We sought to identify the communication strategies, and the limitations of those strategies, used by emergency medical services (EMS) providers when confronted with language barriers in a variety of linguistic and cultural contexts. ⋯ Prehospital providers rely upon similar, informal strategies for overcoming language barriers across a variety of locations, provider types, and linguistic and cultural contexts.
-
Observational Study
Effect of Emergency Medical Services Use on Hospital Outcomes of Acute Hemorrhagic Stroke.
It is unclear whether the use of emergency medical services (EMS) is associated with enhanced survival and decreased disability after hemorrhagic stroke and whether the effect size of EMS use differs according to the length of stay (LOS) in emergency department (ED). ⋯ EMS transport was associated with lower hospital mortality and disability after acute hemorrhagic stroke. Effect size of EMS use for mortality was significant in patients with long ED LOS. Key words: emergency medical service; hemorrhagic stroke; mortality; disability.