Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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In many industries, limiting variability in process has been associated with a reduction in errors. Hypoglycemia is a common prehospital diabetic emergency for which most EMS systems have a treatment protocol. ⋯ In the U.S., EMS protocols for the treatment of hypoglycemia vary significantly. Further studies are warranted to determine the factors underlying this variability and effects on patient outcomes.
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Survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) witnessed by emergency medical service (EMS) personnel has been insufficiently understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate temporal trends in survival after EMS-witnessed OHCAs in Japan. ⋯ In this population, the proportion of one-month survival with neurologically favorable outcome among OHCA patients witnessed by EMS personnel significantly improved during the study period.
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To report on clinical and socio-demographic factors of a one-year caseload of women attended by a statewide ambulance service in Australia, who presented during pregnancy, prior to the commencement of labor. ⋯ This is a unique population wide analysis of ambulance service resource use exploring the clinical profile of pregnant women requiring ambulance services in one calendar year. To manage obstetric and non-obstetric complications in this population safely and effectively, paramedics require an understanding of the unique physiological adaptions during pregnancy. This study therefore has both educational and practice implications.
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The pediatric Glasgow coma scale (pGCS) is a consciousness score that, although widely applied, requires skill to apply. The AVPU scale uses four simple categories (Alert; Verbal response; response to Pain; Unresponsive), but has not been studied in a large pediatric population. We compared the performance of the AVPU and pGCS scales in a large pediatric cohort in an acute, prehospital setting. ⋯ Glasgow coma scale (GCS); Alert-verbal-pain-unresponsive-score; AVPU-score; consciousness assessment; children, pediatric emergency.