Paramedic, cardiac, stroke

This study examines population-level daily patterns of time-stamped emergency medical service (EMS) dispatches to establish their situational predictability. Using visualization, sinusoidal regression, and statistical tests to compare empirical cumulative distributions, we analyzed 311,848,450 emergency medical call records from the US National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS) for years 2010 through 2022. The analysis revealed a robust daily pattern in the hourly distribution of distress calls across 33 major categories of medical emergency dispatch types...

RATIONALE: Delivering optimal patient health care requires interdisciplinary clinician communication. A single communication tool across multiple pre-hospital and hospital settings, and between hospital departments is a novel solution to current systems. Fit-for-purpose, secure smartphone applications allow clinical information to be shared quickly between health providers. Little is known as to what underpins their successful implementation in an emergency care context. AIMS: To identify (a) whether implementing a single, digital health communication application across multiple health care organisations and hospital departments is feasible; (b) the barriers and facilitators to implementation; and (c) which factors are associated with clinicians' intentions to use the technology...

INTRODUCTION: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia and is a significant risk factor for stroke. Prescription of oral anticoagulant (OAC) medication reduces the risk of AF-related stroke by 64% - yet over 400,000 people in England have undiagnosed (and therefore untreated) AF.Emergency medical services (EMS) encounter a wide range of patients, some of whom may not engage with other healthcare services. AF may be detected by EMS in connection with the cause of the call, or as an incidental finding...

INTRODUCTION: Posterior circulation strokes account for 20% of ischaemic strokes, but may present differently to their anterior circulation counterparts. Patients may not exhibit unilateral facial weakness, speech disturbances and unilateral limb weakness, but instead present with more vague symptoms of sudden headache, dizziness, loss of balance and visual problems. This case describes a patient displaying signs and symptoms of a posterior stroke, but who eluded the FAST (face, arm, speech, time) test...

INTRODUCTION: Natural language processing (NLP) is an area of computer science that involves the use of computers to understand human language and semantics (meaning) and to offer consistent and reliable responses. There is good evidence of significant advancement in the use of NLP technology in dealing with acutely ill patients in hospital (such as differential diagnosis assistance, clinical decision-making and treatment options). Further technical development and research into the use of NLP could enable further improvements in the quality of pre-hospital emergency care...

BACKGROUND: Despite advances in defibrillation technology, shock-refractory ventricular fibrillation remains common during out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Double sequential external defibrillation (DSED; rapid sequential shocks from two defibrillators) and vector-change (VC) defibrillation (switching defibrillation pads to an anterior-posterior position) have been proposed as defibrillation strategies to improve outcomes in patients with refractory ventricular fibrillation. METHODS: We conducted a cluster-randomized trial with crossover among six Canadian paramedic services to evaluate DSED and VC defibrillation as compared with standard defibrillation in adult patients with refractory ventricular fibrillation during out-of-hospital cardiac arrest...

INTRODUCTION: Establishment of strong emergency medical services (EMS) systems plays a pivotal role in reducing morbidity and mortality, especially in low and middle-income countries. We aimed to study the EMS utilization and resources available in the ambulances to deliver prehospital care among patients presenting to the Emergency Medicine Department in a tertiary care hospital in south India. METHODS: Data regarding prehospital transport practices such as mode of arrival, utilization of EMS, resources available in the ambulance, presenting complaints, triage category, and demographic details were collected and analyzed...

BACKGROUND: In the medical management of acute myocardial infarction, the transport of patients and primary care provided by emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics are effective in reducing the mortality and disabilities. Therefore, the present study aimed to compare the outcomes of emergency medical services (EMS) vs. non-EMS transport of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in southern Iran. METHODS: This is an analytical, cross-sectional study...

Introduction:  Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a devastating health event that affects over 2000 people each year in Ireland. Survival rate is low, but immediate intervention and initiation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and administration of an automated external defibrillator (AED) can increase chances of survival. It is not always possible for the emergency medical services (EMS) to reach OHCA cases quickly. As such, volunteers, including lay and professional responders (e.g. off-duty paramedics and fire-fighters), trained in CPR and AED use, are mobilised by the EMS to respond locally to prehospital medical emergencies (e...

OBJECTIVE: The Novel Coronavirus19 (COVID19) arrived in northern New Jersey (NJ) in early March 2020, peaked at the beginning of April, and then declined. Starting in March, some patients who called 911 and required advanced life support (ALS) may have decompensated more rapidly than would have been expected, possibly because of concomitant COVID19 infection and/or delays in seeking medical care because of fear of exposure to the virus, and social isolation. In this study, our goal was to determine if there was an increase in prehospital ALS pronouncements and a decrease in ED visits for potentially serious conditions such as MI and stroke during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in northern NJ...

Background : The EMS Practice Analysis provides a vision of current prehospital care by defining the work performed by EMS professionals. In this manuscript, we present the National Advanced Life Support (ALS) EMS Practice Analysis for the advanced EMT (AEMT) and paramedic levels of certification. The goal of the 2019 EMS Practice Analysis is to define the work performed by EMS professionals and present a new template for future practice analyses. Methods: The project was executed in three phases. Phase 1 defined the types/frequency of EMS clinical presentations using the 2016 National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS) dataset...

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that prehospital insertion of peripheral vascular access is highly variable. The aim of this study is to establish the proportion of peripheral vascular access placement and its use with regard to both the severity of cases and the main problem suspected by the paramedics involved. Over-triage was considered to have taken place where peripheral vascular access was placed but unused and these cases were specifically analysed in order to evaluate the possibility of improving current practice...

Children and young adults tend to have reduced mortality and disability after acquired brain injuries such as trauma or stroke and across other disease processes seen in critical care medicine. However, after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), outcomes are remarkably similar across age groups. The consistent lack of witnessed arrests and a high incidence of asphyxial or respiratory etiology arrests among pediatric and young adult patients with OHCA account for a substantial portion of the difference in outcomes...

INTRODUCTION: Possible admission to a PRM unit of a hemiplegic patient equipped with a left ventricular assistance device (LVAD) may constitute a cause for concern. We are reporting our observation on the subject. OBSERVATION: A 30-year-old hemiplegic patient presented with left hemiparesis secondary to a right middle cerebral artery (MCA) ischemic stroke having occurred during cardiopulmonary arrest. Persistence of major left ventricle dysfunction necessitated installation on 8 November 2011 of a mono-ventricular HEART-MATE II assistive device...

Atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) are omnipresent cardiovascular disorders with a substantial impact on morbidity and mortality. As both share common risk factors, their pathophysiology is highly interrelated and a lot of patients present with both conditions. Surprisingly, despite their high prevalence, there is a paucity of evidence regarding the optimal combined management of AF and HF. The initial treatment for new-onset AF in the context of HF should focus on anticoagulation, rate control and prompt electrical cardioversion in case of hemodynamic instability...

A 40-year-old man with diabetes and seizure disorder was found at home unresponsive and "very hot to touch" by his father 40 minutes before emergency medical services arrival. His usual medications included topiramate, divalproex sodium, and rosiglitazone/metformin. Paramedics administered oxygen, intravenous fluids, and naloxone. They did not witness or report seizure activity. Upon emergency department arrival, the patient was unresponsive (Glasgow Coma Scale 3), hypotensive (94/50 mm Hg), and tachypneic (32 breaths per minute), with a heart rate of 60 beats per minute and elevated rectal temperature peaking at 43...

One of the longest running debates in cardiology is about the best reperfusion therapy for patients with evolving acute myocardial infarction (MI). Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (ANGIOPLASTY) is a surgical treatment to reopen a blocked coronary artery to restore blood flow. It is a type of percutaneous (through-the-skin) coronary intervention (PCI) also known as balloon angioplasty. When performed on patients with acute myocardial infarction, it is called primary angioplasty. Primary angioplasty is an alternative to thrombolysis, clot-dissolving drug therapy, for patients with acute MI associated with ST-segment elevation (STEMI), a change recorded with an electrocardiogram (ECG) during chest pain...

A systematic review of the international literature concerning the organisation of the Geriatric Day Hospital (GDH) was performed. From 1987 till now, few papers were found describing the activity and the effectiveness of the GDH. All the studies comparing specific geriatric approaches to regular medicine demonstrate the efficiency of geriatric care, particularly the geriatric assessment. So, with a degree of evidence 1a, a better outcome is found for patients undergoing a geriatric assessment and intervention, compared to patients having no geriatric assessment at all...

OBJECTIVE: This cross-sectional study describes the characteristics of patients with an abnormal Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) in the prehospital setting. METHODS: We reviewed existing prehospital care reports (PCRs) in the San Mateo County, California, emergency medical services (EMS) database from January 1 to December 31, 2007. Adults age 18 or greater with a documented GCS fit inclusion criteria. We excluded single and multisystem trauma patients, as well as patients in cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest, or listed as deceased from the study...

BACKGROUND: While prior studies describe the clinical presentation of patients requiring paramedic out-of-hospital endotracheal intubation (ETI), limited data characterize the underlying medical conditions or comorbidities. OBJECTIVE: To characterize the medical conditions and comorbidities of patients receiving successful paramedic out-of-hospital ETI. METHODS: We used Pennsylvania statewide emergency medical services (EMS) clinical data, including all successful ETIs performed during 2003-2005...