Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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To determine whether mode of arrival is associated with seriousness of etiology and use of diagnostic testing in patients treated in the emergency department for headache. ⋯ In this EMS system, patients with headache who arrive by EMS are more likely to have serious causes. Mode of arrival may be of use to the clinician in assessing risk of serious illness among patients with headache. Whether this observation represents an element of self-triage or a combination of other factors remains to be determined.
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To determine the rate of unnecessary intravenous (IV) access in the emergency setting. ⋯ A significant percentage of IVs initiated in the emergency setting are used inappropriately. IV access without treatment in the field did not improve elapsed time to treatment once patients arrived to the ED. In an era of diminishing health care budgets, further study and strict examination of the cost-benefit ratio ensure maximal utilization of emergent IV access.
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The Prehospital Care Research Forum sponsors both oral and poster presentations of emergency medical services (EMS) research in conjunction with JEMS Corporation's annual EMS Today Conference. Attendance at the research presentations, historically, has been poor. This descriptive study was designed to measure the readability of the Prehospital Care Research Forum abstracts in order to determine whether the abstracts are difficult to read, and thus are a deterrent to attendance at the oral and poster research presentations. ⋯ The abstracts for the Prehospital Care Research Forum presentations are not overly difficult to read. It is unlikely that readability of the abstracts is a factor in the interest, or lack of interest, in the proceedings of the Prehospital Care Research Forum.
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Frequently performing procedures assists in skill maintenance. This study was conducted to characterize frequency and types of basic and advanced prehospital interventions performed on children. ⋯ Advanced EMS procedures were performed on only 19.3% of children. Opportunities to perform critical interventions (e.g., intubation) were rarely present. Children receiving procedures were older and had longer scene and run times.
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To determine the accuracy of acute stroke identification by paramedics in an urban emergency medical services system. ⋯ Paramedics in San Francisco County were correct three-fourths of the time when their documentation listed patients as having stroke/TIA. However, they did not identify 39% of stroke victims, a patient population who may benefit from urgent therapy. A substantial period elapses before stroke victims access 911. This highlights the need to develop an educational program for the community at risk for stroke, and another for paramedics directed toward more accurate identification of acute stroke victims.