BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Patients with suspected stroke first assessed by ambulance paramedics require early recognition to facilitate appropriate triage and early treatment. We determined paramedic's accuracy in detecting acute stroke signs by comparing agreement between neurological signs recorded in the Face Arm Speech Test (FAST), a stroke recognition instrument, by paramedics on the scene an...

OBJECTIVE This study aims to evaluate safety and accessibility of an advanced life support (ALS) ambulance interior. BACKGROUND The standard ambulance's interior design is unsatisfactory based on perceived discomfort and postures that constrain paramedics and medical staff, resulting in unsafe treatment of patients, mainly when being transported. METHODS Two procedures were used to evaluate...

OBJECTIVES The benefits of prehospital trauma management remain controversial. This study aimed to compare the processes of care and outcomes of trauma patients treated by paramedics, who are trained in advanced prehospital trauma care, with those treated by ambulance technicians. METHODS A six year prospective study was conducted of adult trauma patients attended to by the Scottish Ambulance...

BACKGROUND In an environment characterized by cuts to health care, hospital closures, increasing reliance on home care and an aging population, more terminally ill patients are choosing to die at home. The authors sought to determine the care received by these patients when paramedics were summoned by a 911 call and to document whether do-not-resuscitate (DNR) requests influenced the care given...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Paramedic exposure to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) may be an important factor in skill maintenance and quality of care. We aimed to describe the annual exposure rates of paramedics in the state of Victoria, Australia. METHODOLOGY We linked data from the Victorian Ambulance Cardiac Arrest Registry (VACAR) and Ambulance Victoria's employment dataset for 2003-20...

OBJECTIVE To examine the accuracy of theoretical triage decision making among emergency prehospital health care professionals, using a multiple casualty paper exercise. METHODS A standardised 20 casualty paper exercise requiring each casualty to be prioritised for treatment was given to 100 doctors, 59 nurses, and 74 ambulance paramedics who could potentially be involved at the scene of a mul...

In disasters and mass casualty incidents (MCIs) paramedics initially determine the severeness of all patients' injuries during the so-called triage. In order to enhance disaster preparedness continuous training of all paramedics is indispensable. Due to the fact that large disaster control exercises are laborious and expensive, additional training on a small scale makes sense. Therefore we desi...

OBJECTIVES To establish consensus on the most important clinical decisions paramedics make during high-acuity emergency calls and to visualize these decisions on a process map of an emergency call. A secondary objective was to measure agreement among paramedics and medical director panel members. METHODS A multiround online survey of Canadian paramedics and medical directors. In round 1, part...

We conducted an experiment with a posttest, between-.subjects design to evaluate the potential of emerging 3D telepresence technology to support collaboration in emergency healthcare. 3D telepresence technology has the potential to provide richer visual information than current 2D video conferencing techniques. This may be of benefit in diagnosing and treating patients in emergency situations w...

INTRODUCTION 'Take Home' Naloxone (THN) kits for use by peers in the event of an opioid overdose may reduce further overdose and deaths, but distribution through Drugs Services may not reach those at highest risk. Attendance by paramedics at emergency calls for patients who have suffered an overdose presents an opportunity to distribute THN kits. In this feasibility study we will assess the acc...