Advanced Life Support Transport Research Articles

Stop the Bleed-Wait for the Ambulance or Get in the Car and Drive? A Post Hoc Analysis of an EAST Multicenter Trial.

Background: The Stop the Bleed campaign gives bystanders an active role in prehospital hemorrhage control. Whether extending bystanders' role to private vehicle transport (PVT) for urban penetrating trauma improves survival is unknown, but past research has found benefit to police and PVT. We hypothesized that for penetrating trauma in an urban environment, where prehospital procedures have been proven harmful, PVT improves outcomes compared to any EMS or advanced life support (ALS) transport.Methods: Post-hoc analysis of an EAST multicenter trial was performed on adult patients with penetrating torso/proximal extremity trauma at 25 urban trauma centers from 5/2019-5/2020. Patients were allocated to PVT and any EMS or ALS transport using nearest neighbor propensity score matching. Univariate analyses included Wilcoxon signed rank or McNemar's Test and logistic regression.Results: Of 1999 penetrating trauma patients in urban settings, 397 (19.9%) had PVT, 1433 (71.7%) ALS transport, and 169 (8.5%) basic life support (BLS) transport. Propensity matching yielded 778 patients, distributed equally into balanced groups. PVT patients were primarily male (90.5%), Black (71.2%), and sustained gunshot wounds (68.9%). ALS transport had significantly higher ED mortality (3.9% vs 1.9%, P = 0.03). There was no difference in in-hospital mortality rate, hospital LOS, or complications for all EMS or ALS only transport patients.Conclusion: Compared to PVT, ALS, which provides more prehospital procedures than BLS, provided no survival benefit for penetrating trauma patients in urban settings. Bystander education incorporating PVT for early arrival of penetrating trauma patients in urban settings to definitive care merits further investigation.

Telemedical Direction to Optimize Resource Utilization in a Rural Emergency Medical Services System.

Telemedicine remains an underused tool in rural emergency medical servces (EMS) systems. Rural emergency medical technicians (EMT) and paramedics cite concerns that telemedicine could increase Advanced Life Support (ALS) transports, extend on-scene times, and face challenges related to connectivity as barriers to implementation. Our aim in this project was to implement a telemedicine system in a rural EMS setting and assess the impact of telemedicine on EMS management of patients with chest pain while evaluating some of the perceived barriers. This study was a mixed-methods, retrospective review of quality assurance data collected prior to and after implementation of a telemedicine program targeting patients with chest pain. We compared quantitative data from the 12-month pre-implementation phase to data from 15 months post-implementation. Patients were included if they had a chief complaint of chest pain or a 12-lead electrocardiogram had been obtained. The primary outcome was the rate of ALS transport before and after program implementation. Secondary outcomes included EMS call response times and EMS agency performance on quality improvement benchmarks. Qualitative data were also collected after each telemedicine encounter to evaluate paramedic/EMT and EMS physician perception of call quality. The telemedicine pilot project was implemented in September 2020. Overall, there were 58 successful encounters. For this analysis, we included 38 patients in both the pre-implementation period (September 9, 2019-September 10, 2020) and the post-implementation period (September 11, 2020-December 5, 2021). Among this population, the ALS transport rate was 42% before and 45% after implementation (odds ratio 1.11; 95% confidence interval 0.45-2.76). The EMS median out-of-service times were 47 minutes before, and 33 minutes after (P = 0.07). Overall, 64% of paramedics/EMTs and 89% of EMS physicians rated the telemedicine call quality as "good." In this rural EMS system, a telehealth platform was successfully used to connect paramedics/EMTs to board-certified EMS physicians over a 15-month period. Telemedicine use did not alter rates of ALS transports and did not increase on-scene time. The majority of paramedics/EMTs and EMS physicians rated the quality of the telemedicine connection as "good."

Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Disparities in Out-of-Hospital Pain Management for Patients With Long Bone Fractures

To evaluate racial and ethnic disparities in out-of-hospital analgesic administration, accounting for the influence of clinical characteristics and community socioeconomic vulnerability, among a national cohort of patients with long bone fractures. Using the 2019-2020 ESO Data Collaborative, we retrospectively analyzed emergency medical services (EMS) records for 9-1-1 advanced life support transport of adult patients diagnosed with long bone fractures at the emergency department. We calculated adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for out-of-hospital analgesic administration by race and ethnicity, accounting for age, sex, insurance, fracture location, transport time, pain severity, and scene Social Vulnerability Index. We reviewed a random sample of EMS narratives without analgesic administration to identify whether other clinical factors or patient preferences could explain differences in analgesic administration by race and ethnicity. Among 35,711 patients transported by 400 EMS agencies, 81% were White, non-Hispanic, 10% were Black, non-Hispanic, and 7% were Hispanic. In crude analyses, Black, non-Hispanic patients with severe pain were less likely to receive analgesics compared with White, non-Hispanic patients (59% versus 72%; Risk Difference: -12.5%, 95% CI: -15.8% to -9.9%). After adjustment, Black, non-Hispanic patients remained less likely to receive analgesics compared with White, non-Hispanic patients (aOR:0.65, 95% CI:0.53 to 0.79). Narrative review identified similar rates of patients declining analgesics offered by EMS and analgesic contraindications across racial and ethnic groups. Among EMS patients with long bone fractures, Black, non-Hispanic patients were substantially less likely to receive out-of-hospital analgesics compared with White, non-Hispanic patients. These disparities were not explained by differences in clinical presentations, patient preferences, or community socioeconomic conditions.

Outcomes of basic versus advanced prehospital life support in severe pediatric trauma

ObjectiveThe role of basic life support (BLS) vs. advanced life support (ALS) in pediatric trauma is controversial. Although ALS is widely accepted as the gold standard, previous studies have found no advantage of ALS over BLS care in adult trauma. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether ALS transport confers a survival advantage over BLS among severely injured children. MethodsA retrospective cohort study of data included in the Israeli National Trauma Registry from January 1, 2011, through December 31, 2020 was conducted. All the severely injured children (age < 18 years and injury severity score [ISS] ≥16) were included. Patient survival by mode of transport was analyzed using logistic regression. ResultsOf 3167 patients included in the study, 65.1% were transported by ALS and 34.9% by BLS. Significantly more patients transported by ALS had ISS ≥25 as well as abnormal vital signs at admission. The ALS and BLS cohorts were comparable in age, gender, mechanism of injury, and prehospital time. Children transported by ALS had higher in-hospital mortality (9.2% vs. 0.9%, p < 0.001). Following risk adjustment, patients transported by ALS teams were significantly more likely to die than patients transported by BLS (adjusted OR 2.27, 95% CI 1.05–5.41, p = 0.04). Patients with ISS ≥50 had comparable mortality rates in both groups (45.9% vs. 55.6%, p = 0.837) while patients with GCS <9 transported by ALS had higher mortality (25.9% vs. 11.5%, p = 0.019). Admission to a level II trauma center vs. a level I hospital was also associated with increased mortality (adjusted OR 2.78 (95% CI 1.75–4.55, p < 0.001). ConclusionsAmong severely injured children, prehospital ALS care was not associated with lower mortality rates relative to BLS care. Because of potential confounding by severity in this retrospective analysis, further studies are warranted to validate these results.

Stop the Bleed: Now Wait for EMS or Get in the Car and Drive? A Secondary Analysis of an Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma Multicenter Trial

INTRODUCTION: The Stop the Bleed campaign asks that bystanders take an active role in controlling hemorrhage after trauma. However, whether extending the bystanders’ duty to perform private vehicle transport (PVT) results in improved survival is unknown. We hypothesized that in urban penetrating trauma, where prehospital procedures have shown to be harmful, PVT would result in improved outcomes compared with advanced life support (ALS) transport. METHODS: Post hoc analysis of an EAST multicenter, prospective observational trial was performed on adult patients with penetrating torso or extremity trauma at 25 urban trauma centers. Patients were allocated to PVT or ALS using nearest neighbor propensity score matching. Wilcoxon signed-rank or McNemar test and logistic regression were performed for univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Of 1,830 total patients, 397 (21.7%) had PVT, and 1,433 (78.3%) had ALS transport. Propensity matching yielded 778 patients, distributed equally into balanced groups. Patients were primarily male (n = 702, 90.2%), Black (n = 537, 69%), and injured by gunshot wounds (n = 497, 63.9%). ALS transport had significantly higher emergency department (4.8% vs 1.9%, p = 0.02) and overall mortality (5.4% vs 2.8%, p = 0.02). Logistic regression demonstrated PVT was associated with survival (odds ratio 0.30, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.84, p = 0.02). Variables associated with mortality included increasing Injury Severity Score and thoracic injuries (Table 1). Complications did not differ between groups. Table 1. - Logistic Regression Analysis of Patient and Injury Factors on Mortality Parameter Odds Ratio 95% CI p Value Age, y 1.02 0.98–1.05 0.40 Male 2.95 0.31–27.8 0.34 Injury Severity Score 1.10 1.07–1.13 0.001 Private vehicle transport 0.30 0.10–0.84 0.02 Thoracic injury 8.39 2.64–36.6 0.001 Abdomen injury 2.10 0.80–5.52 0.13 Pelvis injury 0.92 0.18–4.76 0.92 Extremity injury 1.18 0.47–2.97 0.72 CONCLUSION: Immediate PVT in lieu of prehospital procedures (by ALS) may improve outcomes in urban penetrating trauma. Bystander education incorporating PVT in this specific patient population could save lives.

An Incomplete Medical Record: Transfer of Care From Emergency Medical Services to the Emergency Department

Background: Transition of care from Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to the Emergency Department (ED) represents an intersection at high risk for error. Minimal research has quantitatively examined data transfer at this point. In Pennsylvania, this handoff consists of a transfer-of-care form (TOC) provided by EMS to ED in addition to a verbal report. A prehospital patient care report (PCR) is later filed by EMS up to 72 hours after concluding care.Objective: To evaluate the congruence between prehospital records provided at handoff and the final PCR found in the patient’s medical record. Our hypothesis was that there would be discrepancies between the TOC and final PCR.Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted comparing the TOC from a single EMS agency to the final PCR found in the electronic medical record. A convenience sample of 200 patients who received advanced life support transport over a one-month period were included. Metrics to assess the discrepancy between the reports included chief complaint, allergies, medications, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP), pulse, respiratory rate (RR), Glasgow Coma Score (GCS), and prehospital treatment provided. The level of agreement between the two sources was compared using kappa statistics and concordance correlation coefficients (CCC) with 95% confidence intervals.Results: Of the 200 encounters that met inclusion criteria, 72% had matching chief complaints between the TOC and PCR. Medications matched in 66% and allergies matched in 82%. Up to three BP, pulse, and RR readings were collected; only 30% of the third BP readings were available from the TOC, while 68% were available from the PCR. Comparing the three SBP values on the TOC to respective counterparts on the PCR showed a substantial correlation (all CCC >0.95). Pulse and DBP values had moderate-to-substantial correlation (CCC: 0.93, 0.94, 0.96 and 0.77, 0.92, 0.94 respectively). RR showed inconsistent correlation (CCC: 0.37, 0.84, 0.94). GCS showed a moderate correlation between the two forms (CCC: 0.81).Conclusion: There were significant differences between the information transferred to the ED through the TOC compared to what was recorded in the PCR. Further evaluation of the TOC process is needed to improve accuracy.

An analysis of police transport in an Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma multicenter trial examining prehospital procedures in penetrating trauma patients.

Police transport (PT) of penetrating trauma patients in urban locations has become routine in certain metropolitan areas; however, whether it results in improved outcomes over prehospital Advanced life support (ALS) transport has not been determined in a multicenter study. We hypothesized that PT would not result in improved outcomes. This was a multicenter, prospective, observational study of adults (18+ years) with penetrating trauma to the torso and/or proximal extremity presenting at 25 urban trauma centers. Police transport and ALS patients were allocated via nearest neighbor, propensity matching. Transport mode also examined by Cox regression. Of 1,618 total patients, 294 (18.2%) had PT and 1,324 (81.8%) were by ALS. After matching, 588 (294/cohort) remained. The patients were primarily Black (n = 497, 84.5%), males (n = 525, 89.3%, injured by gunshot wound (n = 494, 84.0%) with 34.5% (n = 203) having Injury Severity Score of 16 or higher. Overall mortality by propensity matching was not different between cohorts (15.6% ALS vs. 15.0% PT, p = 0.82). In severely injured patients (Injury Severity Score ≥16), mortality did not differ between PT and ALS transport (38.8% vs. 36.0%, respectively; p = 0.68). Cox regression analysis controlled for relevant factors revealed no association with a mortality benefit in patients transported by ALS. Police transport of penetrating trauma patients in urban locations results in similar outcomes compared with ALS. Immediate transport to definitive trauma care should be emphasized in this patient population. Prognostic and Epidemiologic; Level III.

An analysis of overtriage and undertriage by advanced life support transport in a mature trauma system.

While issues regarding triage of severely injured trauma patients are well publicized, little information exists concerning the difference between triage rates for patients transported by advanced life support (ALS) and basic life support (BLS). We sought to analyze statewide trends in undertriage (UT) and overtriage (OT) to address this question, hypothesizing that there would be a difference between the UT and OT rates for ALS compared with BLS over a 13-year period. All patients submitted to Pennsylvania Trauma Outcomes Study database from 2003 to 2015 were analyzed. Undertriage was defined as not calling a trauma alert for patients with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) of 16 or greater. Overtriage was defined as calling a trauma alert for patients with an ISS of 9 or less. A logistic regression was used to assess mortality between triage groups in ALS and BLS. A multinomial logistic regression assessed the adjusted impact of ALS versus BLS transport on UT and OT versus normal triage while controlling for age, sex, Glasgow Coma Scale, systolic blood pressure (SBP), pulse, Shock Index and injury year. A total of 462,830 patients met inclusion criteria, of which 115,825 had an ISS of 16 or greater and 257,855 had an ISS of 9 or less. Both ALS and BLS had significantly increased mortality when patients were undertriaged compared with the reference group. Multivariate analysis in the form of a multinomial logistic regression revealed that patients transported by ALS had a decreased adjusted rate of undertriage (relative risk ratio, 0.92; 95% confidence interval, 0.87-0.97; p = 0.003) and an increased adjusted rate of OT (relative risk ratio, 1.59; 95% confidence interval, 1.54-1.64; p < 0.001) compared with patients transported by BLS. Compared with their BLS counterparts, while UT is significantly lower, OT is substantially higher in ALS-further increasing the high levels of resource (over)utilization in trauma patients. Undertriage in both ALS and BLS are associated with increased mortality rates. Additional education, especially in the BLS provider, on identifying the major trauma victim may be warranted based on the results of this study. Epidemiological, Level III.

Analysis of Mode of Advanced Life Support Transport to a Level I Trauma Center

Hakakian, Daniel BS; Benvenuto, Andrew BS; Bogdanovski, Dorian A. MPH; Foster, Gabrielle E. BS; DiFazio, Louis T. MD; Durling-Grover, Renay MSN, RN; Nemeth, Zoltan H. MD, PhD Author Information

Navy En Route Care: A 3-Year Review of 428 Navy Air Evacuations.

Navy medical personnel have been recording en route care (ERC) missions through Search and Rescue (SAR) reports since the 1970's. Our objective was to report clinical ERC cases treated by Navy operational assets from January 2012 to January 2015. The Search and Rescue Model Manager office collects SAR reports for all patient transports involving Navy personnel and equipment. From these reports, descriptive statistics to include total number of patients transported, percentages of Advanced Life Support versus Basic Life Support transports, time of transport, and type of ERC provider for the transport were collected. Data reported as median (interquartile range) or percentages. During a 3-year period, 428 patients were transported. Transport time was 54 (30-78) minutes. Missions were staffed by more than one provider 22% of the time. Individual providers included 76% Search and Rescue Medical Technicians, 25% Flight Surgeons, and 21% Other. Patients required ALS transport 54% of the time. Less than half (48%) of the patients were trauma related. In our review of 428 SAR reports from Navy ERC (2012-2015), we found that 76% of the missions were performed by Search and Rescue Medical Technicians and 54% met Advanced Life Support transport criteria.

The effect of simple interventions on paramedic aspirin administration rates

Objective To determine the baseline rate of aspirin administration by paramedics and to assess the effect of two interventions (protocol change and brief educational intervention) on that rate. Methods The advanced life support transport provider's clinical database was retrospectively queried to identify calls involving adult patients with chest pain or paramedic impression of suspected cardiac event (possible acute coronary syndrome [ACS]). The study includes data from January 1, 1999, to June 30, 2002, which was divided into three distinct periods. Period 1 was the baseline, period 2 was after the protocol change intervention, and period 3 was after the brief educational intervention. The chest pain protocol indicates patients with chest pain should be treated with aspirin. Results During period 1, 548 of 3,635 (15.1%) patients with possible ACS received aspirin. During period 2, 1,941 of 7,236 (26.8%) patients with possible ACS received aspirin (χ 2 p<0.0001; odds ratio [OR] = 2.06; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.86–2.29). During period 3, 749 of 2,026 (37%) patients with possible ACS received aspirin (χ 2 p<0.0001; OR = 1.60; 95% CI = 1.44–1.78). Comparing period 1 with period 3, after both interventions, there was a 22% absolute improvement in aspirin administration rates (χ 2 p<0.0001; OR = 3.30; 95% CI = 2.91–3.76). Conclusion Aspirin is underutilized in treating patients with suspected ACS. Two brief interventions can lead to modest increases in aspirin administration rates. Even after these interventions, aspirin administration rates remain low.

THE EFFECT OF SIMPLE INTERVENTIONS ON PARAMEDIC ASPIRIN ADMINISTRATION RATES

Objective. To determine the baseline rate of aspirin administration by paramedics and to assess the effect of two interventions (protocol change and brief educational intervention) on that rate. Methods. The advanced life support transport provider's clinical database was retrospectively queried to identify calls involving adult patients with chest pain or paramedic impression of suspected cardiac event (possible acute coronary syndrome [ACS]). The study includes data from January 1, 1999, to June 30, 2002, which was divided into three distinct periods. Period 1 was the baseline, period 2 was after the protocol change intervention, and period 3 was after the brief educational intervention. The chest pain protocol indicates patients with chest pain should be treated with aspirin. Results. During period 1, 548 of 3,635 (15.1%) patients with possible ACS received aspirin. During period 2, 1,941 of 7,236 (26.8%) patients with possible ACS received aspirin (χ2 p < 0.0001; odds ratio [OR] = 2.06; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.86–2.29). During period 3, 749 of 2,026 (37%) patients with possible ACS received aspirin (χ2 p < 0.0001; OR = 1.60; 95% CI = 1.44–1.78). Comparing period 1 with period 3, after both interventions, there was a 22% absolute improvement in aspirin administration rates (χ2 p < 0.0001; OR = 3.30; 95% CI = 2.91–3.76). Conclusion. Aspirin is underutilized in treating patients with suspected ACS. Two brief interventions can lead to modest increases in aspirin administration rates. Even after these interventions, aspirin administration rates remain low.

D IVERSION OF ALS A MBULANCES : C HARACTERISTICS , C AUSES, AND E FFECTS IN A L ARGE U RBAN S YSTEM

Objective. To characterize the reasons for and effects of diversions of advanced life support (ALS) ambulances in a large urban area with a high concentration of receiving hospitals. Methods. A retrospective study was performed in a large urban region during a consecutive three-month period. Diversion was defined as the ALS transport of a patient to an emergency department (ED) other than the designated primary receiving facility. Case-matched concurrent cohorts of patients who were and were not diverted were studied to establish emergency medical services (EMS) time intervals, including total prehospital interval (TPI), on-scene interval (OSI), and patient transfer interval (PTI); age; gender; Glasgow Coma Score (GCS); ALS interventions; and insurance status. The reasons for diversion and the chief complaints of diverted patients were also studied. Results. During the study period, 2,534 ALS runs occurred, of which 147 (5.8%) were diverted. Twenty-four (16.3%) diversions had incomplete run times, leaving 123 (83.7%) for analysis. The most common chief complaints of diverted patients were shortness of breath (SOB), chest pain (CP), and altered mental status (AMS). The most common reason for diversion was special consideration (SC), defined as a diversion requested by a patient, family member, law enforcement officer, or private medical doctor. Diverted ambulances had significant increases in TPI, 36.4 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 35.1–37.7] vs 33.4 [95% CI 32.13–34.7], and PTI, 10.3 [95% CI 9.4–11.2] vs 7.9 [95% CI 7.2–8.6], compared with nondiverted ambulances. Further analysis demonstrated that SC diversions accounted for all of the increases in TPI (p < 0.001) and PTI (p < 0.001) when compared with other types of diversions and nondiverted transports. Conclusion. “Special consideration” was the most common reason for diversion in this study. Special consideration diversions increased TPI and PTI, causing delays in arrival to the ED and decreased ALS ambulance availability.

Evaluation of Protocols Allowing Emergency Medical Technicians to Determine Need for Treatment and Transport

To determine whether emergency medical technicians (EMTs) can safely apply protocols to assign transport options and to assess agreement between groups of providers on application of the protocols. Developed protocols categorized patients as: 1) needs ambulance; 2) go to the emergency department (ED) by alternative means; 3) contact primary care provider (PCP); or 4) treat and release. After education on the application of the protocols, first responders and ambulance EMTs categorized patients at the scene prior to transport but did not change current practice. Ambulance reports were reviewed using a predetermined list of critical events that signified the need for an ambulance. The EMTs categorized 1,300 study patients as follows: 1,023 (79%) needed ambulance transport, 200 (15%) could go to the ED by alternative means, 63 (5%) could contact a PCP, 14 (1%) could be treated and released. Categorizations by a first responder and the transporting EMT were compared for 209 patients. Collapsing categories to "need ambulance/do not need ambulance" showed fair concordance (kappa = 0.51). Initially, 30 of 277 (11%) patients determined not to need an ambulance appeared to experience a critical event. After review, 23 patients had events that may not warrant advanced life support transport. Seven (3%) had critical events in the ambulance warranting ambulance transport. Most were miscategorized by the EMT. Overall sensitivity and specificity for identifying patients needing ambulance transport were 94.5% and 32.8%, respectively. From 3% to 11% of patients determined on scene not to need an ambulance had a critical event. Emergency medical services systems need to determine an acceptable rate of undertriage. Further study is needed to determine whether better adherence to the protocols might increase safety.

Pattern of basic life support ambulance use in an urban pediatric population

To evaluate the pattern of use of basic life support (BLS) ambulances in a pediatric population, emergency medical service (EMS) and pediatric emergency department (PED) records from an urban hospital PED for all children transported to PED by ambulance during a 1-month study period were retrospectively reviewed. Excluded were: (1) advanced life support transport, (2) transport from other medical facility, (3) patients with chronic medical disability without acute decompensation, and (4) patients in police custody. BLS transport was considered inappropriate if: (1) no intervention by BLS technicians, (2) minimal to no intervention in the PED, and (3) discharge without prescription medication. Of 376 ambulance transports evaluated, 238 (63%) met entry criteria, and 105 (44%) transports met criteria for being inappropriate. The mean charge for appropriate transport was $240.68, and for inappropriate, $237.12 ( P = .2). The total charge for inappropriate transports was $26,523.20. Patients on federal assistance had a significantly higher rate of inappropriate transport (51%) compared with patients who had commercial insurance (30%) and those who self payed (42%). Trauma was the most common cause for transport, 48% of which was inappropriate. It was concluded that inappropriate BLS transport of pediatric patients is common. This use is costly and may disrupt the delivery of EMS care to the remainder of the community. Efforts aimed at public education and providing alternative means of transport may significantly reduce charges and improve the delivery of EMS care.