Prehospital and disaster medicine
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Mar 2006
Cardiac arrest on the links: are we up to par? Availability of automated external defibrillators on golf courses in southeastern Pennsylvania.
A growing number of golfers are senior citizens, and it may be predicted that the number of golf-related medical emergencies, including the incidence of cardiac arrest, will increase. This study was designed to survey the level of preparedness of golf courses in southeastern Pennsylvania to respond to cardiac arrest among their members. ⋯ Neither public nor private golf courses are well equipped to respond to cardiac arrest, but outcomes on public courses likely are to be far worse.
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Mar 2006
National study of ambulance transports to United States emergency departments: importance of mental health problems.
Understanding ambulance utilization patterns is essential to assessing prehospital system capacity and preparedness at the national level. ⋯ Reliance on ambulance services varies by age, insurance status, geographic factors, time of day, urgency of visit, subsequent admission status, and type of mental health disorder. Even after controlling for many confounding factors, mental health problems remain an important predictor of ambulance use.
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Mar 2006
Reasons prehospital personnel do not administer aspirin to all patients complaining of chest pain.
Aspirin is administered to patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACSs), but prehospital providers do not administer aspirin to all patients with chest pain that could be secondary to an ACS. ⋯ The most common reason that paramedics did not administer aspirin was the paramedic's belief that the chest pain was not of a cardiac nature. Another common reason for not giving aspirin was the inability of EMT-Basic providers to administer aspirin.
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Mar 2006
The prehospital emergency care system in Mexico City: a system's performance evaluation.
Mexico City has one of the highest mortality rates in Mexico, with non-intentional injuries as a leading cause of death among persons 1-44 years of age. Emergency medical services (EMS) in Mexico can achieve high levels of efficiency by offering high quality medical care at a low cost through adequate system design. ⋯ Emergency medical services in Mexico City did not meet the AAA requirements for high-quality, prehospital, emergency care. Coordination among EMS providers is difficult to achieve, due, in part, to the lack of: (1) an authoritative structure; (2) sound system design; and (3) appropriate legislation. The government, EMS providers, stakeholders, and community members should work together to build a high quality EMS system at the lowest possible cost.
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Mar 2006
Realities of rural emergency medical services disaster preparedness.
Disaster preparedness is an area of major concern for the medical community that has been reinforced by recent world events. The emergency healthcare system must respond to all types of disasters, whether the incidents occur in urban or rural settings. Although the barriers and challenges are different in the rural setting, common areas of preparedness must be explored. ⋯ Maintaining viable, rural, emergency response capabilities and developing a community-wide response to natural or man-made events is crucial to mitigate long-term effects of disasters on a local healthcare system. The assessment of preparedness activities accomplished in this study will help to identify common themes to better prioritize preparedness activities and maximize the response capabilities of an EMS organization.