Tara Funk Corcoran, Remle Crowe, Christian Martin-Gill, Sriram Ramgopal
{"title":"Mapping Prehospital Clinician Impression to Hospital-Based Diagnoses in Children Transported to the Hospital by Emergency Medical Services.","authors":"Tara Funk Corcoran, Remle Crowe, Christian Martin-Gill, Sriram Ramgopal","doi":"10.1080/10903127.2024.2370511","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10903127.2024.2370511","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Emergency medical services (EMS) serves a critical role in the delivery of services to children with out-of-hospital emergencies. The EMS clinicians' initial field diagnoses, termed \"impressions,\" facilitate focused patient assessments, guide the application of prehospital treatment protocols, and help determine transport destination. We sought to evaluate the concordance of the EMS clinician impression to a child's hospital-based diagnosis.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We retrospectively studied de-identified pediatric (<18 years old) scene runs transported to the hospital and with available linked hospital data from the 2021 ESO Data Collaborative, a multi-agency prehospital electronic health record dataset. EMS impressions and primary emergency department or admission-based diagnoses were categorized into one of twenty-one major groups in the Diagnosis Grouping System. We identified the most common hospital-based discharge diagnoses and evaluated for the agreement between EMS impression and hospital-based diagnosis using Cohen's Kappa statistic.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We included 35,833 pediatric transports from the scene with linked prehospital and in-hospital data (median age 11 years, interquartile range, 3-15 years; 50.9% male). The most common categories for both EMS impressions and hospital-based diagnoses were as follows respectively: trauma (26.1%; 24.6%), neurologic diseases (18.9%; 16.4%), psychiatric and behavioral diseases and substance use disorder (11.8%; 11.6%), and respiratory diseases (11.1% and 9.5%). A total of 23,224 out of 35,833 patients, or 64.8%, had concordant EMS impressions and hospital-based diagnoses. There was high agreement between common EMS impression and in-hospital diagnoses (trauma 77.3%; neurologic diseases 70.3%; respiratory diseases 64.5%; and psychiatric, behavioral disease and substance use disorder 73.9%). Hospital-based diagnoses demonstrated moderate concordance with prehospital data (Cohen's κ = 0.59).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We found moderate concordance between EMS primary impression and hospital diagnoses. The EMS encounter is brief and without capabilities of advanced testing, but initial impressions may influence the basis of the triage assignment and interventions during the hospital-based encounter. By evaluating EMS impressions and ultimate hospital diagnoses, pediatric protocols may be streamlined, and specific training emphasized in pursuit of improving patient outcomes. Future work is needed to examine instances of discordance and evaluate the impact on patient care and outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":20336,"journal":{"name":"Prehospital Emergency Care","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141446853","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Karl A Sporer, Kristen M Bascombe, Tarak K Trivedi, Timothy Hong, Mary P Mercer
{"title":"Novel Methodology for Linking 9-1-1 Dispatch Categories with a Death Registry: Mortality Rates of Selected Dispatch Categories.","authors":"Karl A Sporer, Kristen M Bascombe, Tarak K Trivedi, Timothy Hong, Mary P Mercer","doi":"10.1080/10903127.2024.2372442","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10903127.2024.2372442","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) is a system used to assign medical 9-1-1 calls to one of 35 chief complaints that are further categorized in order of increasing priority, Alpha through Echo. In this descriptive study we demonstrate the methodology of matching MPDS codes to a county mortality registry. We also evaluated the ability of select MPDS codes (fall, respiratory, sick person, and abdominal pain) to predict mortality up to 30 d for all ages transported by Alameda County Emergency Medical Services (EMS).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using Alameda County EMS data, we conducted a retrospective review of all EMS encounters that occurred from November 1, 2011, to November 1, 2016. To describe mortality in this population, we identified unique patients and linked them to the Alameda County Public Health Death Registry. We identified mortality at 48 h, 7 d, and 30 d after an EMS encounter.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Approximately 99% of the EMS encounters were matched with unique patient identifiers, yielding a study sample of 202,431 (4% less than age 18, 53% between ages 18-65, and 43% over age 65). Patients with a respiratory chief complaint had the highest mortality percentage in each age group (0.23%, 2.7%, and 14.55% respectively). There was no correlation between the MPDS code and mortality for patients less than age 18. An increase in Alpha through Echo designation for respiratory complaints in patients 18-65 and older than 65 years corresponded with an increase in 30-day mortality.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study demonstrates an upward trend in mortality with increasing acuity of Alpha through Echo designations for adult patients with respiratory complaints. Mortality increased with age in this cohort. Most of the deaths occurred after 7 days.</p>","PeriodicalId":20336,"journal":{"name":"Prehospital Emergency Care","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141470377","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mathew A Saab, Eric Jacobson, Kip Hanson, Brandon Kruciak, David Miramontes, Stephen Harper
{"title":"Prehospital Whole Blood Administration for Pediatric Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage: A Case Report.","authors":"Mathew A Saab, Eric Jacobson, Kip Hanson, Brandon Kruciak, David Miramontes, Stephen Harper","doi":"10.1080/10903127.2024.2372808","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10903127.2024.2372808","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The management of gastrointestinal (GI) hemorrhage in a prehospital setting presents significant challenges, particularly in arresting the hemorrhage and initiating resuscitation. This case report introduces a novel instance of prehospital whole blood transfusion to an 8-year-old male with severe lower GI hemorrhage, marking a shift in prehospital pediatric care. The patient, with no previous significant medical history, presented with acute rectal bleeding, severe hypotension (systolic/diastolic blood pressure [BP] 50/30 mmHg), and tachycardia (148 bpm). Early intervention by Emergency Medical Services (EMS), including the administration of 500 mL (16 mL/kg) of whole blood, led to marked improvement in vital signs (BP 97/64 mmHg and heart rate 93 bpm), physiology, and physical appearance, underscoring the potential effectiveness of prehospital whole blood transfusion in pediatric GI hemorrhage. Upon hospital admission, a Meckel's diverticulum was identified as the bleeding source, and it was successfully surgically resected. The patient's recovery was ultimately favorable, highlighting the importance of rapid, prehospital intervention and the potential role of whole blood transfusion in managing acute pediatric GI hemorrhage. This case supports the notion of advancing EMS protocols to include interventions historically reserved for the hospital setting that may significantly impact patient outcomes from the field.</p>","PeriodicalId":20336,"journal":{"name":"Prehospital Emergency Care","volume":" ","pages":"1-4"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141470378","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Emergency Patient Triage Improvement through a Retrieval-Augmented Generation Enhanced Large-Scale Language Model.","authors":"Megumi Yazaki, Satoshi Maki, Takeo Furuya, Ken Inoue, Ko Nagai, Yuki Nagashima, Juntaro Maruyama, Yasunori Toki, Kyota Kitagawa, Shuhei Iwata, Takaki Kitamura, Sho Gushiken, Yuji Noguchi, Masahiro Inoue, Yasuhiro Shiga, Kazuhide Inage, Sumihisa Orita, Takaaki Nakada, Seiji Ohtori","doi":"10.1080/10903127.2024.2374400","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10903127.2024.2374400","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Emergency medical triage is crucial for prioritizing patient care in emergency situations, yet its effectiveness can vary significantly based on the experience and training of the personnel involved. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of integrating Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) with Large Language Models (LLMs), specifically OpenAI's GPT models, to standardize triage procedures and reduce variability in emergency care.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We created 100 simulated triage scenarios based on modified cases from the Japanese National Examination for Emergency Medical Technicians. These scenarios were processed by the RAG-enhanced LLMs, and the models were given patient vital signs, symptoms, and observations from emergency medical services (EMS) teams as inputs. The primary outcome was the accuracy of triage classifications, which was used to compare the performance of the RAG-enhanced LLMs with that of emergency medical technicians and emergency physicians. Secondary outcomes included the rates of under-triage and over-triage.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3.5 (GPT-3.5) with RAG model achieved a correct triage rate of 70%, significantly outperforming Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) with 35% and 38% correct rates, and emergency physicians with 50% and 47% correct rates (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Additionally, this model demonstrated a substantial reduction in under-triage rates to 8%, compared with 33% for GPT-3.5 without RAG, and 39% for GPT-4 without RAG.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The integration of RAG with LLMs shows promise in improving the accuracy and consistency of medical assessments in emergency settings. Further validation in diverse medical settings with broader datasets is necessary to confirm the effectiveness and adaptability of these technologies in live environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":20336,"journal":{"name":"Prehospital Emergency Care","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141477343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ryan P Strum, Brent McLeod, Shawn Mondoux, Paul Miller, Andrew P Costa
{"title":"Post-Pandemic Growth in 9-1-1 Paramedic Calls and Emergency Department Transports Surpasses Pre-Pandemic Rates in the COVID-19 Era: Implications for Paramedic Resource Planning.","authors":"Ryan P Strum, Brent McLeod, Shawn Mondoux, Paul Miller, Andrew P Costa","doi":"10.1080/10903127.2024.2372452","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10903127.2024.2372452","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The COVID-19 pandemic led to a decline in emergency department (ED) visits and a subsequent return to baseline pre-pandemic levels. It is unclear if this trend extended to paramedic services and if patient cohorts accessing paramedics changed. We examined trends and associations between paramedic utilization (9-1-1 calls and ED transports) and the COVID-19 timeframe.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study using paramedic call data from the Hamilton Paramedic Services from January 2016 to December 2023. We included all 9-1-1 calls where paramedics responded to an incident, excluding paramedic interfacility transfers. We calculated lines of best fit for the pre-pandemic period (January 2016 to January 2020) and compared their predictions to the actual volumes in the post-pandemic period (May 2021 to December 2023). We used an interrupted time series regression model to determine the association between pandemic timeframes (pre-, during-, post-COVID-19) and paramedic utilization (9-1-1 calls and ED transports), while testing for annual seasonality.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>During the study timeframe, 577,278 calls for paramedics were received and 413,491 (71.6%) were transported to the ED. Post-pandemic, 9-1-1 calls exceeded predicted pre-pandemic levels by 1,298 per month, while ED transports exceeded by 543 per month. The pandemic significantly reduced monthly 9-1-1 calls (-588.2, 95% CI -928.8 to -247.5) and ED transports (-677.3, 95% CI -927.0 to -427.5). Post-pandemic, there was a significant and sustained resurgence in monthly 9-1-1 calls (1,208.0, 95% CI 822.1 to 1,593.9) and ED transports (868.8, 95% CI 585.8 to 1,151.7). Both models exhibited seasonal variations.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Post-pandemic, 9-1-1-initiated paramedic calls experienced a substantial increase, surpassing pre-pandemic growth rates. ED transports returned to pre-pandemic levels but with a steeper and continuous pattern of growth. The resurgence in paramedic 9-1-1 calls and ED transports post-COVID-19 emphasizes an urgent necessity to expedite development of new care models that address how paramedics respond to 9-1-1 calls and transport to overcrowded EDs.</p>","PeriodicalId":20336,"journal":{"name":"Prehospital Emergency Care","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141580630","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jasmine S Zaphir, Karen A Murphy, Alex J MacQuarrie, Matthew J Stainer
{"title":"Understanding The Role of Cognitive Load In Paramedical Contexts: A Systematic Review.","authors":"Jasmine S Zaphir, Karen A Murphy, Alex J MacQuarrie, Matthew J Stainer","doi":"10.1080/10903127.2024.2370491","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10903127.2024.2370491","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Objectives:</b> Cognitive load refers to the working memory resources required during a task. When the load is too high or too low this has implications for an individual's task performance. In the context of paramedicine and emergency medical services (EMS) broadly, high cognitive load could potentially put patient and personnel safety at risk. This systematic review aimed to determine the current understanding of the role of cognitive load in paramedical contexts.<b>Methods:</b> To do this, five databases were searched (Elsevier Embase, ProQuest Psychology, CINAHL, Ovid Medline, and Ovid PsychINFO) using synonyms of cognitive load and paramedical contexts. Included articles were full text, peer reviewed empirical research, with a focus on cognitive load and EMS work. Two reviewers screened titles, abstracts, and full text using a traffic light system against the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The quality of evidence was assessed using the GRADE framework. This study was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42022384246). No funding was received for this research.<b>Results:</b> The searches identified 73 unique articles and after title/abstract and full text screening, 25 articles were included in the final review. Synthesis of the research revealed 10 categories of findings in the area. These are clinical performance, cognitive processes, emotional responses, physical expenditure, physiological responses, equipment and ergonomics, expertise and experience, multiple loads, cognitive load measures, and task complexity.<b>Conclusions:</b> From these findings it was determined that there is agreement in terms of what factors influence cognitive load in paramedical contexts, such as cognitive processes, task complexity, physical expenditure, level of experience, multiple types of loads, and the use of equipment. Cognitive load influences clinical task performance and has a bi-directional relationship with emotion. However, the literature is mixed regarding physiological responses to cognitive load, and how they are best measured. These findings highlight potential intervention points where cognitive load can be managed or reduced to improve working conditions for EMS clinicians and safety for their patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":20336,"journal":{"name":"Prehospital Emergency Care","volume":" ","pages":"1-23"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141451259","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marc Cohen, Ryan DeVivo, Marianne Gausche-Hill, Shira A Schlesinger
{"title":"Development and Deployment of a Pre-Planned Hospital Emergency Response Team (HERT) for EMS Augmentation: Case Report and Program Review.","authors":"Marc Cohen, Ryan DeVivo, Marianne Gausche-Hill, Shira A Schlesinger","doi":"10.1080/10903127.2024.2365333","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10903127.2024.2365333","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>With the establishment and growth of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) subspecialty, significant attention has been focused on clinical activities performed by EMS physicians in the out-of-hospital environment. An EMS fellowship includes special operations education to develop preparedness for responding to field situations requiring physician expertise. With only a thousand Board Certified EMS physicians in North America, EMS physicians may not be available 24 h per day to respond to field emergencies. Non-EMS physicians with minimal experience in prehospital or austere care may be called upon to respond to complex prehospital emergencies requiring advanced skills. The Los Angeles County EMS Agency implemented a policy in 1992 to establish Hospital Emergency Response Teams (HERT) as a regional resource to provide time-critical, specialized prehospital services within an EMS system. Activation of the HERT is rare, most frequently prompted by need for field amputation to enable extrication. We describe one such incident of a field intervention by HERT and detail the staffing, training, and equipment considerations within our large regional EMS system.</p>","PeriodicalId":20336,"journal":{"name":"Prehospital Emergency Care","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141262536","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bryan D Nelson, Conor J McLaughlin, Orlando E Rivera, Kashyap Kaul, Andrew J Ferdock, Zachary M Matuzsan, Ali R Yazdanyar, Jay V Gopal, Ayushi Y Patel, Rachael M Chaska, Bruce A Feldman, Jeanne L Jacoby
{"title":"Implementation of a Novel Prehospital Clinical Decision Tool and ECG Transmission for STEMI Significantly Reduces Door-to-Balloon Time and Sex-Based Disparities.","authors":"Bryan D Nelson, Conor J McLaughlin, Orlando E Rivera, Kashyap Kaul, Andrew J Ferdock, Zachary M Matuzsan, Ali R Yazdanyar, Jay V Gopal, Ayushi Y Patel, Rachael M Chaska, Bruce A Feldman, Jeanne L Jacoby","doi":"10.1080/10903127.2024.2357595","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10903127.2024.2357595","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>An important method employed to reduce door to balloon time (DTBT) for ST segment elevation Myocardial Infarctions (STEMIs) is a prehospital MI alert. The purpose of this retrospective study was to examine the effects of an educational intervention using a novel decision support method of STEMI notification and prehospital electrocardiogram (ECG) transmission on DTBT.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>An ongoing database (April 4, 2000 - present) is maintained to track STEMI alerts. In 2007, an MI alert program began; emergency medicine physicians could activate a \"prehospital MI alert\". In October 2015, modems were purchased for Emergency Medical Services personnel to transmit ECGs. There was concurrent implementation of a decision support tool for identifying STEMI. Sex was assigned as indicated in the medical record. Data were analyzed in two groups: Pre-2016 (PRE) and 2016-2022 (POST).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In total, 3,153 patients (1,301 PRE; 1,852 POST) were assessed; the average age was 65.2 years, 32.6% female, 87.7% white with significant differences in age and race between the two cohorts. Of the total 3,153 MI alerts, 239 were false activations, leaving 2,914 for analysis. 2,115 (72.6%) had cardiac catheterization while 16 (6.7%) of the 239 had a cardiac catheterization. There was an overall decrease in DTBT of 27.5% PRE to POST of prehospital ECG transmission (<i>p</i> < 0.001); PRE median time was 74.5 min vs. 55 min POST. There was no significant difference between rates of cardiac catheterization PRE and POST for all patients. After accounting for age, race, and mode of arrival, DTBT was 12.2% longer in women, as compared to men (<i>p</i> < 0.001) PRE vs. POST. DTBT among women was significantly shorter when comparing PRE to POST periods (median 77 min vs. 60 min; <i>p</i> = 0.0001). There was no significant sex difference in the proportion of those with cardiac catheterization between the two cohorts (62.5% vs. 63.5%; <i>p</i> = 0.73).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Introduction of a decision support tool with prehospital ECG transmission with prehospital ECG transmission decreased overall DTBT by 20 min (27.5%). Women in the study had a 17-minute decrease in DTBT (22%), but their DTBT remained 12.2% longer than men for reasons that remain unclear.</p>","PeriodicalId":20336,"journal":{"name":"Prehospital Emergency Care","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141076555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Luke E Kayser, Devin E Spolsdoff, J Priyanka Vakkalanka, Talon J Hoefer, Curtis A Walker, Peter K Georgakakos
{"title":"Assessing Efficiency in a Static-Based 9-1-1 Ambulance Service: An Analysis of Operational Performance Metrics.","authors":"Luke E Kayser, Devin E Spolsdoff, J Priyanka Vakkalanka, Talon J Hoefer, Curtis A Walker, Peter K Georgakakos","doi":"10.1080/10903127.2024.2360672","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10903127.2024.2360672","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study sought to evaluate performance indicators to assist a static-based 9-1-1 agency in defining its response efficiency.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Initial assessment of three metrics-unit hour utilization (UHU), fractile response intervals, and level 0 frequency (occurrence when no ambulances are available to respond)-suggested the agency's response over its four coverage zones was inefficient, so an operational change was implemented: an ambulance was relocated from one service area to another to improve the overall response productivity. A 2-year retrospective analysis was performed to determine the impact ambulance relocation had on the three targeted measurements.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The operational change resulted in a statistically significant change in unit hour utilization, a non-significant increase in fractile response intervals, and a statistically significant reduction in level 0 frequency from pre- to post-operational change times.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These findings suggest a way to evaluate the efficiency of static-based ambulance deployment and potentially identify strategies for redeployment.</p>","PeriodicalId":20336,"journal":{"name":"Prehospital Emergency Care","volume":" ","pages":"1-5"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141161390","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kira Chandran, Isabel M Algaze Gonzalez, Sixian Wang, Daniel P Davis
{"title":"Chest Decompressions - The Driver of CPR Efficacy: Exploring the Relationship Between Compression Rate, Depth, Recoil Velocity, and End-Tidal CO2.","authors":"Kira Chandran, Isabel M Algaze Gonzalez, Sixian Wang, Daniel P Davis","doi":"10.1080/10903127.2024.2364058","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10903127.2024.2364058","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Cardiopulmonary arrest survival is dependent on optimization of perfusion <i>via</i> high quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), defined by a complex dynamic between rate, depth, and recoil velocity. Here we explore the interaction between these metrics and create a model that explores the impact of these variables on compression efficacy.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study was performed in a large urban/suburban fire-based emergency medical services (EMS) system over a nine-month period from 2019 to 2020. Manual chest compression parameters [rate/depth/recoil velocity] from a cohort of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OOHCA) victims were abstracted from monitor defibrillators (ZOLL X-series) and end-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2) from sensors. The mean values of these parameters were modeled against each other using multiple regression and structural equation modeling with ETCO2 as a dependent variable.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Data from a total of 335 patients were analyzed. Strong linear relationships were observed between compression depth/recoil velocity (<i>r</i> = .87, <i>p</i> < .001), ETCO2/depth (<i>r</i> = .23, <i>p</i> < .001) and ETCO2/recoil velocity (<i>r</i> = .61, <i>p</i> < .001). Parabolic relationships were observed between rate/depth (<i>r</i> = .39, <i>p</i> < .001), rate/recoil velocity (<i>r</i> = .26, <i>p</i> < .001), and ETCO2/rate (<i>r</i> = .20, <i>p</i> = .003). Rate, depth, and recoil velocity were modeled as independent variables and ETCO2 as a dependent variable with excellence model performance suggesting the primary driver of stroke volume to be recoil velocity rather than compression depth.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We used manual CPR metrics from out of hospital cardiac arrests to model the relationship between CPR metrics. These results consistently support the importance of chest recoil on CPR hemodynamics, suggesting that guidelines for optimal CPR should emphasize the importance of maximum chest recoil.</p>","PeriodicalId":20336,"journal":{"name":"Prehospital Emergency Care","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141238057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}