Regular Ambulance Research Articles

Simulation-based Analysis of Co-dispatching in Prehospital Stroke Care

A mobile stroke unit (MSU) is a specialized ambulance, enabling to shorten the time to diagnosis and treatment for stroke patients. In the current paper, we present a simulation-based approach to study the potential impacts of collaborative use of regular ambulances and MSUs in prehospital transportation for stroke patients, denoted as co-dispatching. We integrated a co-dispatch policy in an existing modeling framework for constructing emergency medical services simulation models. In a case study, we applied the extended framework to southern Sweden to evaluate the effectiveness of using the co-dispatch policy for different types of stroke. The results indicate reduced time to diagnosis and treatment for stroke patients when using the co-dispatch policy compared to the situation where either a regular ambulance or an MSU is assigned for a stroke incident.

The general attributes and competence for nurses in a single responder unit: A modified Delphi study

AimThe aim of this study was to describe the general attributes and competence that nurses in the ambulance’s single responder units are considered to need.BackgroundThe development of ambulance care has led to an increased need for new units and working methods. Single responder unit is a single crewed unit that often uses for the patient assessments, to refer patients to the right level of care and to release regular ambulances. There is a lack of description of the needed competence for the nurses within single responder unit.MethodsModified Delphi with three rounds was used. The first round was conducted with focus group interviews and analysed with content analysis. Five competence categories and 19 subcategories were identified. The second and third rounds were conducted through surveys using a 4-point Likert scale and analysed with descriptive statistics.ResultsThe ability to communicate with other healthcare providers to achieve one’s goal, the ability to create a good encounter alone and to have appropriate professional experience were identified as the most important general attributes and competencies.ConclusionsA central competence in prehospital emergency care is the ability to independently assess and treat patients with varying care needs in complex environments. To be able to work in SRU requires good communication and collaborations skills with other healthcare providers but it is also a prerequisite for creating a good patient relationship. Work experience of taking care of varying patients and situations is also needed in SRU.

Physician-staffed prehospital units: a retrospective follow-up from an urban area in Scandinavia

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to determine when and how rapid response vehicles (RRVs) make a difference in prehospital care by investigating the number and kinds of RRV assignment dispatches and the prehospital characteristics and interventions involved.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study was based on data from a quality assurance system where all assignments are registered. RRV staff register every assignment directly at the site, using a smartphone, tablet, or computer. There is no mandatory information requirement or time limit for registration. The study includes data for all RRVs operating in Region Stockholm, three during daytime hours and one at night – from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021.ResultsIn 2021, RRVs in Stockholm were dispatched on 11,283 occasions, of which 3,571 (31.6%) resulted in stand-downs. In general, stand-downs were less common for older patients. The most common dispatch category was blunt trauma (1,584 or 14.0%), which accounted for the highest frequency of stand-downs (676 or 6.0%). The second most common category was cardiac arrest (1,086 or 9.6%), followed by shortness of breath (691 or 6.1%), medical not specified (N/S) (596 or 5.3%), and seizures (572 or 5.1%).ConclusionThe study findings confirm that RRVs provide valuable assistance to the ambulance service in Stockholm, especially for cardiac arrest and trauma patients. In particular, RRV personnel have more advanced medical knowledge and can administer medications and perform interventions that the regular ambulance service cannot provide.

Successful extended use of Impella 5.5 as a bridge to heart transplantation

Abstract We present the case of a 60-year-old gentleman who was admitted with acute-on-chronic cardiogenic shock and was supported with axillary Impella 5.5® for 123 days prior to heart transplantation. Total length of temporary mechanical circulatory support (MCS) was 132 days, which included 9 days with an intra-aortic balloon pump prior to Impella. During support, the patient remained extubated, participated in regular ambulation and rehabilitation with physical therapy and had continuous monitoring of device positioning. He did not experience any vascular or septic events while on temporary MCS and had improved hemodynamics and renal function after Impella initiation. Post-transplantation course was uncomplicated, and he is doing well without evidence for allograft dysfunction over 581 days post-transplantation. To our knowledge, this is the longest Impella 5.5®-supported patient during the new United Network for Organ Sharing Heart Allocation era who was successfully bridged to heart transplantation with over 1-year follow-up.

Prehospital stroke care in Africa: The reality and potential solutions.

Prehospital stroke care in Africa: The reality and potential solutions.

Photography tele-transmission by regular ambulance staff for the management of mild traumatic injury: the NiCEPHORE randomised-controlled trial

BackgroundHandling emergency calls in French emergency medical call centres (EMCCs) can be challenging considering the frequent lack of relevant information. Tele-transmission device use in regular ambulances seems like a good solution to provide the EMCC physician with a more accurate assessment of the scene, particularly for mild traumatic injury (MTI). We measured the impact of ambulance staff tele-transmitted photography on prehospital dispatching optimisation for patients calling the EMCC with MTI.MethodsWe conducted a prospective, single-centre, randomised-controlled trial comparing two groups of patients calling the EMCC with MTI who were or were not allocated to photography tele-transmission by ambulance staff. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients referred away from the nearest hospital (left at home for outpatient care; referred to a higher-level hospital; handled by a medical intensive care ambulance for advanced pre-hospital care) used as a marker of better orientation.ResultsBetween 29 April 2019 and 21 July 2020, 165 patients were randomised and 152 analysed. Photography tele-transmission resulted in better patient dispatching (24/73 [33%] patients in the intervention group vs 9/79 [11%] patients in the control group, OR 3.80 [1.63–8.90]; p = 0.03), without increasing the proportion of patients initially left at home for outpatient care and visiting an ED within 10 days for secondary trauma-related care (1/14 [7%] vs 1/4 [25%], OR 0.25 [0.01–24.1]; p = 0.41). The proportion of patients unnecessarily referred to an ED was 7% [4/59 patients] in the intervention group vs 16% [12/75 patients] in the control group (OR 0.38 [0.09–1.36]; p = 0.10).ConclusionPhotography tele-transmission by regular ambulance staff could improve the dispatching of patients calling French EMCCs with MTI.Trial registration The study is registered with Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04034797).

Design and Fabrication of Drone Ambulance for Emergency Medication

The emergency medication or the first aid medication is achieved as earlier through the ariel transportation via ambulance drones it will be act as the virtual interface between the doctors in the hospital and the patient want to be treated immediately, this drone contains with the first aid tool kid which will be act as the essential emergency medication vehicle. It is also helps for the servicing in the medical field as transporting medical equipment for testing and pharmaceutical drugs delivery. This drone is specially made for reducing the time wasting for Emergency medication at the golden hour without any traffic delays made from the Regular ambulance. Camera and Monitor, Mic and Speaker will be used for Visual and audio interface between the doctor and the patient. The system is designed to have the short distance flying with more accuracy at less time which carrying a pay load of 3kg this will be helpful to achieve fastest medication at the earlier time.GPS system is used for tracking the location of the patient.

A Micro-Level Simulation Model for Analyzing the Use of MSUs in Southern Sweden

A mobile stroke unit (MSU) is a special type of ambulance, where stroke patients can be diagnosed and provided intravenous treatment, hence allowing to cut down the time to treatment for stroke patients. We present a discrete event simulation (DES) model to study the potential benefits of using MSUs in the southern health care region of Sweden (SHR). We included the activities and actions used in the SHR for stroke patient transportation as events in the DES model, and we generated a synthetic set of stroke patients as input for the simulation model. In a scenario study, we compared two scenarios, including three MSUs each, with the current situation, having only regular ambulances. We also performed a sensitivity analysis to further evaluate the presented DES model. For both MSU scenarios, our simulation results indicate that the average time to treatment is expected to decrease for the whole region and for each municipality of SHR. For example, the average time to treatment in the SHR is reduced from 1.31h in the baseline scenario to 1.20h and 1.23h for the two MSU scenarios. In addition, the share of stroke patients who are expected to receive treatment within one hour is increased by a factor of about 3 for both MSU scenarios.

Impact of the Admission Pathway on the Gender-Related Mortality of Patients With ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction

The mortality of women with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) exceeds that of men, supposedly the result of older age and co-morbidities. Patients with STEMI can be transported directly to the catherization lab by the emergency medical service (EMS) or to the emergency department (ED) by the EMS, a regular ambulance, or independently. This raises the question whether gender disparity in the transport of patients with STEMI may affect time to therapy and consequently explain the disparate outcome in men and women with STEMI. We analyzed a large nationwide registry of prospectively-recorded patients with acute coronary syndromes in order to determine if there is a survival gap between men and women with STEMI, and to assess the gender-related effect of admission pathway on time intervals and 5-year mortality. Study population included 2,740 patients with STEMI who underwent primary percutaneous coronary interventions, comprising 464 women (17%, median-70 years) and 2,276 men (83%, median-58 years). The unadjusted 5-year mortality of women was higher compared with men (26.4% vs 15.6%, p=0.001) but adjustment abrogated this survival difference. Regardless of adjustment, the 5-year mortality of patients with STEMI admitted directly to the catherization lab or to the ED by EMS was similar for men and women but significantly lower in the directly admitted patients (p <0.028). In contrast, admission to the ED by non-EMS was associated with markedly worse survival among women. These results indicate that women suspected of STEMI benefit from transportation by the EMS and should use this pathway exclusively to reach the hospital.

Investigating Greenhouse Gas (CO2) Emission and Performance of Drone in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems

The benefits of using eco-friendly technologies along with their efficiency for EMS systems have caused to address the importance of drones in terms of performance and environmental aspects. In this study, by considering the applications of drone capability such as fast delivery along with a focus on the energy consumption of drone, a new bi-objective mathematical model of location-allocation problem of EMS systems is presented. In the first objective function, the impact of drone to maximize the expected survival of patients is investigated and in the second one, the minimization of CO2 emission of drone utilization in EMS systems is considered which is the most documented and well-known greenhouse gas often used to calculate pollution and energy impacts. The importance of patient’s lives in comparison with the associated reduction of carbon emission has caused to be solved the model by a preemptive fuzzy goal programming approach to measure the achievement degree of objectives. By using data and obtained results from a similar study, the model is evaluated to show the applicability and benefits of drones in healthcare service and environmental aspects. The results show that drone utilization in comparison with regular ambulance vehicles can save more lives as well as emit less CO2. The results strongly support the notion that using drones for EMS systems is not only efficient but also is environmentally friendly.

Application of Mobile Stroke Unit in Prehospital Thrombolysis of Acute Stroke: Experience from China

Background and Purpose: Most patients cannot receive intravenous thrombolytic therapy in the early stage of stroke onset, and the application of mobile stroke unit (MSU) in prehospital intravenous thrombolytic therapy of acute stroke may change this situation. The first MSU in China was put into use in 2017. Herein, we aimed to explore the preliminary experience of MSU in prehospital thrombolysis of acute stroke. Methods: Patients who received prehospital intravenous thrombolytic therapy using MSU were classified to the MSU thrombolysis group, and the control group consisted of stroke patients admitted by regular ambulances, who were transferred to hospital for intravenous thrombolytic therapy. The feasibility, safety, and duration of procedures were compared. Results: There were 14 patients received prehospital intravenous thrombolysis on the MSU, and 24 patients underwent intravenous thrombolysis in the emergency center, who were transferred by the ordinary ambulance during the same period. The median call-to-needle time was 59.5 min in the MSU thrombolysis group, while it was 89 min in the control group; the difference between the 2 groups was statistically significant (p = 0.001). The median time from onset to thrombolysis was 70 and 102.5 min, respectively, in the 2 groups (p = 0.002). The percentages of good clinical outcome (modified Rankin Scale score ≤ 2) at 90-day follow-up were 79 and 67%, respectively (p = 0.488). The rate of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage and mortality during the perioperative period did not differ significantly between 2 groups. Conclusion: Despite the small sample size, our preliminary experience of the application of MSU in the prehospital thrombosis therapy seems to indicate a significant reduction in time from call to needle, the efficacy of MSU in the treatment of acute stroke needs further experiment and larger sample size to confirm.

Benefits of Early Ambulation in Elderly Patients Undergoing Lumbar Decompression and Fusion Surgery: A Prospective Cohort Study

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effects of early ambulation on elderly patients’ postoperative physical functional outcomes, complications, 90‐day readmission rate, and the length of postoperative hospital stay.MethodsThis is a prospective cohort study conducted between June 2019 and December 2019. The study enrolled 86 elderly patients (39 males) with newly diagnosed lumbar degenerative disease undergoing single‐segment decompression and fusion surgerywere enrolled. Of all 86 patients, 39 voluntarily joined the early ambulation group, and 47 joined the regular ambulation group. The early ambulation group included patients ambulated within 4 h postoperatively, whereas the regular ambulation group included patients who were ambulatory at a minimum of 24 h after surgery. Participants’ baseline characteristics, surgical information, ambulation ability, degree of pain, functional scores, postoperative complications, 90‐day readmission rate, and length of postoperative hospital stay were recorded.ResultsParticipants’ baseline demographic characteristics were balanced between the early ambulation group and the regular ambulation group. The operative time and blood loss were similar between groups. The time before the first‐time ambulation was 4 ± 0.5 h in the early ambulation group and 28 ± 4.5 h in the regular ambulation group. Ambulating distance was significantly longer in the early ambulation group compared with the regular ambulation group on the 1st (63 ± 45 vs 23 ± 60 m), the 2nd (224 ± 100 vs 101 ± 130 m), and the 3rd (280 ± 102.5 vs 190 ± 170 m) ambulation days based on generalized estimating equation analyses. Generalized estimating equation analyses also demonstrated that the ambulating time was longer in the early ambulation group compared with the regular ambulation group on the 1st (10 ± 5 vs 10 ± 5 min), the 2nd (19 ± 7 vs 15 ± 5 min), and the 3rd (22 ± 16.5 vs 27 ± 12 min) ambulation days. Patients in the regular ambulation group experienced a higher degree of pain than the early ambulation group patients, with an odds ratio of 1.627 (P = 0.002). Short‐term functional independence was superior in the early ambulation group, with a lower Roland–Morris disability questionnaire score (P = 0.008) and Oswestry disability index (P < 0.001). The incidences of postoperative urinary retention (early ambulation group: 7.7%, regular ambulation group: 25.5%, P = 0.030) and ileus (early ambulation group: 0%, regular ambulation group: 12.8%, P = 0.030) were significantly higher in the regular ambulation group. The prevalence of at least one complication rate was significantly lower in the early ambulation group than in the regular ambulation group (early ambulation group, 23.1%; regular ambulation group, 46.8%, P = 0.022). The duration of indwelling of the drainage catheter was shorter in the early ambulation group (early ambulation group, 68 ± 24 h; regular ambulation group, 78 ± 20 h, P = 0.001), and the length of the postoperative hospital stay was also shorter in the early ambulation group (early ambulation group, 4 ± 0 days; regular ambulation group: 5 ± 2 days, P < 0.001). However, there was no statistical difference in the 90‐day readmission rate between groups.ConclusionEarly ambulation improved patients’ postoperative functional status, decreased the incidence of complications, and shortened postoperative hospital stay in elderly patients undergoing lumbar decompression and fusion surgery.

Economic Analysis of Mobile Integrated Health Care Delivered by Emergency Medical Services Paramedic Teams

Mobile integrated health care (MIH) is a new model of community-based health care to provide on-site urgent or nonurgent care. Niagara emergency medical services (NEMS) started MIH in 2018 to serve the Niagara region of Ontario, Canada. However, its economic impact is unknown. To compare time on task and cost between MIH and ambulance delivered by NEMS from a public payer's perspective. This economic evaluation was an analysis of the NEMS databases regarding responses to emergency calls by the NEMS from 2016 to 2019. Emergency calls serviced by MIH in 2018 to 2019 were used as an intervention cohort. Propensity score matching was used to identify a 1:1 matched cohort of calls serviced by regular ambulance response for the same period and 2 years prior. Statistical analyses were performed from January to April 2020. MIH compared with matched ambulance services. The main outcomes were the time on task (including time on scene and time at hospital) and costs. Costs were calculated in 2019 Canadian dollars using cost per minute and compared with the 3 ambulance cohorts. In 2018 to 2019, there were 1740 calls serviced by MIH for which a matched ambulance cohort was identified for the same period and 2 years prior. The mean (SD) time on task was 72.7 (51.0) minutes for MIH, compared with 84.1 (52.0) minutes, 84.3 (54.1) minutes, and 79.4 (42.0) minutes for matched ambulance in 2018 to 2019, 2017 to 2018, and 2016 to 2017, respectively. Of calls serviced by MIH, 498 (28.6%) required ED transport (ie, after MIH team assessment, transport to ED was deemed to be necessary or demanded by the patient), compared with 1300 (74.7%) calls serviced by ambulance in 2018 to 2019, 1294 (74.4%) in 2017 to 2018, and 1359 (78.1%) in 2016 to 2017. The mean (SD) total cost per 1000 calls was $122 760 ($78 635) for MIH compared with $294 336 ($97 245), $299 797 ($104 456), and $297 269 ($81 144) for regular ambulance responses in the 3 matched cohorts, respectively. Compared with regular ambulance response, MIH was associated with a substantial reduction in the proportion of patients transported to the ED, leading to a substantial saving in total costs. This finding suggests that the MIH model is a promising and viable solution to meeting urgent health care needs in the community, while substantially improving the use of scarce health care resources.

Mobile stroke units for acute stroke care in the south of sweden

A Mobile stroke unit (MSU) is a type of ambulance deployed to promote the rapid delivery of stroke care. We present a computational study using a time to treatment estimation model to analyze the potential benefits of using MSUs in Sweden’s Southern Health Care Region (SHR). In particular, we developed two scenarios (MSU1 and MSU2) each including three MSUs, which we compared with a baseline scenario containing only regular ambulances. For each MSU scenario, we assessed how much the expected time to treatment is estimated to decrease for the whole region and each subregion of SHR, and how the population is expected to benefit from the deployment of MSUs. For example, the average time to treatment in SHR was decreased with 20,4 and 15,6 minutes, respectively, in the two MSU scenarios. Moreover, our computational results show that the locations of the MSUs significantly influence what benefits can be expected. While MSU1 is expected to improve the situation for a higher share of the population, MSU2 is expected to have a higher impact on the patients who currently have the longest time to treatment.

Pre-hospital care & interfacility transport of 385 COVID-19 emergency patients: an air ambulance perspective

BackgroundCOVID-19, the pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, is challenging healthcare systems worldwide. Little is known about problems faced by emergency medical services—particularly helicopter services—caring for suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients. We aimed to describe the issues faced by air ambulance services in Europe as they transport potential COVID-19 patients.MethodsNine different HEMS providers in seven different countries across Europe were invited to share their experiences and to report their data regarding the care, transport, and safety measures in suspected or confirmed COVID-19 missions. Six air ambulance providers in six countries agreed and reported their data regarding development of special procedures and safety instructions in preparation for the COVID-19 pandemic. Four providers agreed to provide mission related data. Three hundred eighty-five COVID-19-related missions were analysed, including 119 primary transport missions and 266 interfacility transport missions.ResultsAll providers had developed special procedures and safety instructions in preparation for COVID-19. Ground transport was the preferred mode of transport in primary missions, whereas air transport was preferred for interfacility transport. In some countries the transport of COVID-19 patients by regular air ambulance services was avoided. Patients in interfacility transport missions had a significantly higher median (range) NACA Score 4 (2-5) compared with 3 (1-7), needed significantly more medical interventions, were significantly younger (59.6 ± 16 vs 65 ± 21 years), and were significantly more often male (73% vs 60.5%).ConclusionsAll participating air ambulance providers were prepared for COVID-19. Safe care and transport of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients is achievable. Most patients on primary missions were transported by ground. These patients were less sick than interfacility transport patients, for whom air transport was the preferred method.

COVID-19 first stage in Japan - how we treat 'Diamond Princess Cruise Ship' with 3700 passengers?

COVID-19 first stage in Japan - how we treat 'Diamond Princess Cruise Ship' with 3700 passengers?

Functional stroke outcomes after mobile stroke unit deployment \u2013 the revised protocol for the Berlin Prehospital Or Usual Delivery of acute stroke care (B_PROUD) part 2 study

BackgroundStudies investigating the Mobile Stroke Unit (MSU) concept have shown increased thrombolysis rates, reduced alarm-to-treatment times and improved prehospital triage. Yet, so far, there is no definite scientific proof of better functional outcome after MSU deployment compared to regular ambulances.MethodsWe provide a revised protocol for the second part of the B_PROUD trial as organization of the MSU dispatch did not meet the anticipated standards in the first part. B_PROUD is a pragmatic, prospective study comparing functional outcomes of treatment candidates with or without MSU care. Treatment candidates are defined as patients with a final diagnosis of ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack, onset-to-dispatch-times ≤4 h, disabling symptoms not resolved at time of ambulance arrival, and the ability to ambulate prior to the qualifying event. These patients are included if their emergency call prompted a stroke alarm at the dispatch center during MSU operation hours (7 am–11 pm, Monday-Sunday) and if the emergency is located within the MSU operation area in Berlin, Germany. The intervention group consists of patients who are cared for by the MSU. When the MSU is already in operation for another emergency, MSU dispatches are handled by regular ambulances (about 45%). These dispatches create the control group. Blinded stroke physicians assess the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score in recorded structured interviews 3 months after stroke. The primary outcome is the degree of disability and death over the full range of the mRS. As a change to the previously published protocol and only pertinent in case of more than 9% lost-to-follow-up, a co-primary outcome was introduced consisting of the proportions of death, new institutional care or severe disability in patients with additional use of information from registration offices.PerspectiveThe results will inform parties involved in acute stroke care organization on the effectiveness of the MSU concept.Trial registrationThe protocol is registered in (NCT03931616) and has been approved by the ethical review committee of the Charité – University Medicine Berlin (EA4/109/15) on September 2, 2015. The study protocol of B_PROUD part 1 had been published in the International Journal of Stroke as “Berlin Prehospital Or Usual Delivery of acute stroke care (B_PROUD) – study protocol” (doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1747493017700152) on March 22, 2017 [1] previous to first patient’s registration.

Enhanced recovery after surgery for radical cystectomy with ileal urinary diversion: a multi-institutional, randomized, controlled trial from the Chinese bladder cancer consortium

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) has played an important role in recovery management for radical cystectomy with ileal urinary diversion (RC-IUD). This study is to evaluate ERAS compared with the conventional recovery after surgery (CRAS) for RC-IUD. From October 2014 and July 2016, bladder cancer patients scheduled for curative treatment from 25 centers of Chinese Bladder Cancer Consortium were randomly assigned to either ERAS or CRAS group. Primary endpoint was the 30-day complication rate. Secondary endpoints included recovery of fluid and regular diet, flatus, bowel movement, ambulation, and length of stay (LOS) postoperatively. Follow-up period was 30-day postoperatively. There were 144 ERAS and 145 CRAS patients. Postoperative complications occurred in 25.7 and 30.3% of the ERAS and CRAS patients with 55 complications in each group, respectively (p=0.40). There was no significant difference between groups in major complications (p=0.82), or type of complications (p=0.99). The ERAS group had faster recovery of bowel movements (median 88 versus 100h, p=0.01), fluid diet tolerance (68 versus 96h, p<0.001), regular diet tolerance (125 versus 168h, p=0.004), and ambulation (64 versus 72h, p=0.047) than the CRAS group, but similar time to flatus and LOS. ERAS did not increase 30-day complications compared with CRAS after RC. ERAS may be better than CRAS in terms of bowel movement, tolerance of fluid and regular diet, and ambulation.

Berlin prehospital or usual delivery of acute stroke care - Study protocol.

Rationale Prehospital stroke care in specialized ambulances increases thrombolysis rates, reduces alarm-to-treatment times, and improves the prehospital triage. Preliminary analyses suggest cost-effectiveness. However, scientific proof of better functional outcome compared to usual care is still lacking. Aim To prove better functional outcomes after deployment of the Stroke Emergency Mobile compared to regular ambulances. Sample size estimates A sample size of 686 patients will be required in each arm (Stroke Emergency Mobile group vs. regular care) to detect a difference regarding the primary outcome with 80% power at a two-sided significance level of 0.05. Methods and design This is a pragmatic, prospective study with blinded outcome assessment. Primary outcome will be functional status as defined by modified Rankin Scale score three months after the incident event. We will include cerebral ischemia patients within a predefined catchment area in Berlin, Germany. The study population consists of patients who might be candidates for acute recanalizing treatments, with onset-to-alarm time ≤4 h, symptoms not resolved at time of ambulance arrival, and able to walk without assistance prior to the qualifying incident. About 45% of Stroke Emergency Mobile dispatches are expected to be handled by regular ambulances, since Stroke Emergency Mobile will be already in operation creating the control group. Primary outcome Functional outcome after three months measured by the modified Rankin Scale over the entire range. Discussion The results will inform decision makers on the effectiveness of Stroke Emergency Mobile.

A Systematic Review of the Implementation Challenges of Telemedicine Systems in Ambulances

Telemedicine systems are gaining attention nationwide as a means for providing care in remote areas and allowing a small number of providers to impact a large geographic region. We systematically reviewed the literature to identify the efficacy and implementation challenges of telemedicine systems in ambulances. A search for published studies on Web of Science and PubMed was completed. Studies were selected if they included at least a pilot study and they focused on feasibility or implementation of telemedicine systems in ambulances. A total of 864 articles were used for title and abstract screening. Full text screening was completed for 102 articles, with 23 being selected for final review. Sixty-one percent of the studies included in the review focused on general emergency care, while 26% focused on stroke care and 13% focused on myocardial infarction care. The reviewed studies found that telemedicine is feasible and effective in decreasing treatment times, report a high diagnosis accuracy rate, show higher rates of positive task completion than in regular ambulances, and demonstrate that stroke evaluation is completed with comparable accuracy to the standard way of delivering care. Although this review identified life-saving benefits of telemedicine, it also showed the paucity of the scientifically sound research in its implementation, prompting further studies. Further research is needed to analyze the capabilities and challenges involved in implementing telemedicine in ambulances, especially studies focusing on human-system integration and human factors' considerations in the implementation of telemedicine systems in ambulances, the development of advanced Internet connectivity paradigms, additional applications for triaging, and the implications of ambulance location.