Decision-Making Challenges of Paramedics in Prehospital Emergency Care

Abstract

Cardiovascular emergencies have a high prevalence and are important among other pre-hospital emergencies. In such emergency situations, making decisions to provide the best care and transport to the hospital are brought with many challenges. The current study reports paramedics’ on-scene decision-making challenges in relation to a patient with the acute coronary syndrome. The case was an old woman who complained of sudden dizziness and weakness. The patient’s vital signs included a blood pressure of 100/70 mm Hg, heart rate of 58 beats per minute, respiratory rate of 17 breaths per minute, O2 sat of 96% and blood sugar of 145 mg/dL. The past medical history of the patient indicated that she had no previous disease or use of medications. In the hospital emergency unit, electrocardiography was recorded and ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction was observed. Paramedics face many challenges in on-scene decision making, which affect the time, process, and consequences of their decisions. In low and middle-income countries, due to resource limitations, all ambulances are not equipped with diagnostic equipment including portable sonograph and electrocardiograms. In such contexts, decision-making protocols need to be designed and used at the emergency scenes to guide the paramedic and ensure their optimal performance.