Dataset Information

Physician-manned prehospital emergency care in tertiary emergency centers in Japan.

ABSTRACT:

Aim

Use of a physician-manned prehospital emergency medical service (EMS) has recently become widespread in Japan. Understanding the epidemiology of critically ill patients is essential for planning national and regional physician-manned prehospital EMS systems. However, current knowledge on patients receiving physician-manned prehospital EMS is sparse. The present study aimed to determine the clinical features of critically ill patients with and without physician-manned prehospital EMS, using a national inpatient database in Japan.

Methods

Using the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination inpatient database, we identified all hospitalized patients transported to tertiary emergency centers by physician-manned EMS or EMS without a physician from April 2014 to March 2015. We collected data on patient characteristics, in-hospital mortality, admission diagnoses, advanced life support interventions, and incidence of critical illnesses.

Results

We identified 497,911 hospitalized patients transported to tertiary emergency centers by EMS. Of these, 15,507 (3%) patients were hospitalized by physician-manned EMS. The majority of admission diagnoses in the physician-manned EMS group were classified "diseases of the circulatory system" (45%) and "injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes" (34%). The rates of in-hospital mortality, advanced life support interventions, and critical illnesses in the physician-manned EMS group were 22%, 51%, and 53%, respectively. The median incidences of hospitalized patients by physician-manned EMS, advanced life support interventions, and critical illnesses were 12, 137, and 205 per 100,000 persons per year in facilities with physician-manned EMS, respectively.

Conclusion

Our study indicates that physician-manned EMS is dispatched to a relatively small proportion of critically ill patients in Japan.

SUBMITTER: Ohbe H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6442537 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Physician-manned prehospital emergency care in tertiary emergency centers in Japan.

Ohbe Hiroyuki H Isogai Shunsuke S Nakajima Mikio M Jo Taisuke T Matsui Hiroki H Fushimi Kiyohide K Yasunaga Hideo H

Acute medicine & surgery 20190228 2

<h4>Aim</h4>Use of a physician-manned prehospital emergency medical service (EMS) has recently become widespread in Japan. Understanding the epidemiology of critically ill patients is essential for planning national and regional physician-manned prehospital EMS systems. However, current knowledge on patients receiving physician-manned prehospital EMS is sparse. The present study aimed to determine the clinical features of critically ill patients with and without physician-manned prehospital EMS, ...[more]

PMID: 30976443

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Project description:ImportanceThe association between total prehospital time and mortality in physician-staffed trauma systems remains uncertain.ObjectiveTo describe the association of total prehospital time and in-hospital mortality in prehospital, physician-staffed trauma systems in France, with the hypothesis that total prehospital time is associated with increased mortality.Design, setting, and participantsThis cohort study was conducted from January 2009 to December 2016. Data for this study were derived from 2 distinct regional trauma registries in France (1 urban and 1 rural) that both have a physician-staffed emergency medical service. Consecutive adult trauma patients admitted to either of the regional trauma referral centers during the study period were included. Data analysis took place from March 2018 to September 2018.Main outcomes and measuresThe association between death and prehospital time was assessed with a multivariable model adjusted with confounders. Total prehospital time was the primary exposure variable, recorded as the time from the arrival of the physician-led prehospital care team on scene to the arrival at the hospital. The main outcome of interest was all-cause in-hospital mortality.ResultsA total of 10 216 patients were included (mean [SD] age, 41 [18] years; 7937 men [78.3%]) affected by predominantly nonpenetrating injuries (9265 [91.5%]), with a mean (SD) Injury Severity Score of 17 (14) points. Of the patients, 6737 (66.5%) had at least 1 body region with an Abbreviated Injury Scale score of 3 or more. A total of 1259 patients (12.4%) presented in shock (with systolic pressure <90 mm Hg) and 2724 (26.9%) with severe head injury (Abbreviated Injury Scale score ≥3 points). On unadjusted analysis, increasing prehospital times (in 30-minute categories) were associated with a markedly and constant increase in the risk of in-hospital death. The odds of death increased by 9% for each 10-minute increase in prehospital time (odds ratio, 1.09 [95% CI, 1.07-1.11]) and after adjustment by 4% (odds ratio, 1.04 [95% CI, 1.01-1.07]).Conclusions and relevanceIn this study, an increase in total prehospital time was associated with increasing in-hospital all-cause mortality in trauma patients at a physician-staffed emergency medical system, after adjustment for case complexity. Prehospital time is a management objective in analogy to physiological targets. These findings plead for a further streamlining of prehospital trauma care and the need to define the optimal intervention-to-time ratio.

Project description:BackgroundTelemedicine offers a unique opportunity to improve coordination and administration for urgent patient care remotely. In an emergency setting, it has been used to support first responders by providing telephone or video consultation with specialists at hospitals and through the exchange of prehospital patient information. This technological solution is evolving rapidly, yet there is a concern that it is being implemented without a demonstrated clinical need and effectiveness as well as without a thorough economic evaluation.ObjectiveOur objective is to systematically review whether the clinical outcomes achieved, as reported in the literature, favor telemedicine decision support for medical interventions during prehospital care.MethodsThis systematic review included peer-reviewed journal articles. Searches of 7 databases and relevant reviews were conducted. Eligibility criteria consisted of studies that covered telemedicine as data- and information-sharing and two-way teleconsultation platforms, with the objective of supporting medical decisions (eg, diagnosis, treatment, and receiving hospital decision) in a prehospital emergency setting. Simulation studies and studies that included pediatric populations were excluded. The procedures in this review followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement. The Risk Of Bias In Non-randomised Studies-of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tool was used for the assessment of risk of bias. The results were synthesized based on predefined aspects of medical decisions that are made in a prehospital setting, which include diagnostic decision support, receiving facility decisions, and medical directions for treatment. All data extractions were done by at least two reviewers independently.ResultsOut of 42 full-text reviews, 7 were found eligible. Diagnostic support and medical direction and decision for treatments were often reported. A key finding of this review was the high agreement between prehospital diagnoses via telemedicine and final in-hospital diagnoses, as supported by quantitative evidence. However, a majority of the articles described the clinical value of having access to remote experts without robust quantitative data. Most telemedicine solutions were evaluated within a feasibility or short-term preliminary study. In general, the results were positive for telemedicine use; however, biases, due to preintervention confounding factors and a lack of documentation on quality assurance and protocol for telemedicine activation, make it difficult to determine the direct effect on patient outcomes.ConclusionsThe information-sharing capacity of telemedicine enables access to remote experts to support medical decision making on scene or in prolonged field care. The influence of human and technology factors on patient care is poorly understood and documented.

Project description:RationaleEarly antibiotics improve outcomes for patients with sepsis. Factors influencing antibiotic timing in emergency department (ED) sepsis remain unclear.ObjectivesDetermine the relationship between prehospital level of care of patients with sepsis and ED door-to-antibiotic time.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study comprised patients admitted from the community to an academic ED June 2009 to February 2015 with fluid-refractory sepsis or septic shock. Transfer patients and those whose antibiotics began before ED arrival or after ED discharge were excluded. We used multivariable regression to evaluate the association between the time from ED arrival to antibiotic initiation and prehospital level of care, defined as the highest level of emergency medical services received: none, basic life support (BLS) ambulance, or advanced life support (ALS) ambulance. We measured variation in this association when hypotension was or was not present by ED arrival.ResultsAmong 361 community-dwelling patients with sepsis, the level of prehospital care correlated with illness severity. ALS-treated patients received antibiotics faster than patients who did not receive prehospital care (median, 103 [interquartile range, 75 to 135] vs. 144 [98 to 251] minutes, respectively) or BLS-only patients (168 [100-250] minutes; P < 0.001 for each pairwise comparison with ALS). This pattern persisted after multivariable adjustment, where ALS care (-43 min; 95% confidence interval [CI], -84 to -2; P = 0.033) but not BLS-only care (-4 min; 95% CI, -41 to +34; P = 0.97) was associated with less antibiotic delay compared with no prehospital care. ALS-treated patients more frequently received antibiotics within 3 hours of ED arrival (91%) compared with walk-in patients (62%; adjusted odds ratio, 3.11; 95% CI, 1.20 to 8.03; P = 0.015) or BLS-treated patients (56%; adjusted odds ratio, 4.51; 95% CI, 1.89 to 11.35; P < 0.001). ALS-treated patients started antibiotics faster than walk-in patients in the absence of hypotension by ED arrival (-41 min; 95% CI, -110 to -13; P = 0.009) but not when hypotension was present (+25 min; 95% CI, -43 to +92; P = 0.66).ConclusionsPrehospital ALS but not BLS-only care was associated with faster antibiotic initiation for patients with sepsis without hypotension. Process redesign for non-ALS patients may improve antibiotic timeliness for ED sepsis.

Project description:BackgroundEmergency medical services regularly encounter severe burns. As standards of care are relatively well-established regarding their hospital management, prehospital care is comparatively poorly defined. The aim of this study was to describe burned patients taken care of by our physician-staffed emergency medical service (PEMS).MethodsAll patients directly transported by our PEMS to our burn centre between January 2008 and December 2017 were retrospectively enrolled. We specifically addressed three "burn-related" variables: prehospital and hospital burn size estimations, type and volume of infusion and pain assessment and management. We divided patients into two groups for comparison: TBSA < 20% and ≥ 20%. We a priori defined clinically acceptable limits of agreement in the small and large burn group to be ±5% and ± 10%, respectively.ResultsWe included 86 patients whose median age was 26 years (IQR 12-51). The median prehospital TBSA was 10% (IQR 6-25). The difference between the prehospital and hospital TBSA estimations was outside the limits of agreement at 6.2%. The limits of agreement found in the small and large burn groups were - 5.3, 4.4 and - 10.1, 11, respectively. Crystalloid infusion was reported at a median volume of 0.8 ml/kg/TBSA (IQR 0.3-1.4) during the prehospital phase, which extrapolated over the first 8 h would equal to a median volume of 10.5 ml/kg/TBSA. The median verbal numeric rating scale on scene was 6 (IQR 3-8) and 3 (IQR 2-5) at the hospital (p < 0.001). Systemic analgesia was provided to 61 (71%) patients, predominantly with fentanyl (n = 59; 69%), followed by ketamine (n = 7; 8.1%). The median doses of fentanyl and ketamine were 1.7 mcg/kg (IQR 1-2.6) and 2.1 mg/kg (IQR 0.3-3.2), respectively.ConclusionsWe found good agreement in burn size estimations. The quantity of crystalloid infused was higher than the recommended amount, suggesting a potential risk for fluid overload. Most patients benefited from a correct systemic analgesia. These results emphasized the need for dedicated guidelines and decision support aids for the prehospital management of burned patients.

Dataset Information

Physician-manned prehospital emergency care in tertiary emergency centers in Japan.

Aim

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Physician-manned prehospital emergency care in tertiary emergency centers in Japan.

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