ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Qualification is the basis to prevent a shortage of emergency medicine service (EMS) physicians. To find out more about the motivation and training conditions young doctors attending EMS medicine courses were questioned. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 33 planned courses were identified and participants from 19 courses were asked to fill out the questionnaires. The questionnaires contained 22 questions on person, motivation, support by the employer and individual aims of course attendance. RESULTS: 2,050 questionnaires were distributed, 970 (47.3%) were returned. Participants were 31.8 ± 5.2 years old (mean) and attended the course after 3.7 ± 4.3 years of clinical experience. 907 were in specialist training (237 surgery, 320 internal medicine, 269 anaesthesia). 751 participants planned to work as emergency physician in the future (196 possibly), 213 in urgent care centres. For 309 participants attendance was an employer requirement. Attendance was on educational leave (489), paid leave (258), annual leave (112) or free time (85). The course was fully (493) or partially (177) paid by the employer. Accommodation was paid for by physicians (525) or employers (287). Practical training on the ambulance was planned in free time or during annual leave (582), on paid leave (204) or during regular shifts (119). 682 participants hoped to gain more safety with in-hospital emergencies, 560 planned shifts on the ambulance of the own hospital and 511 planned to work on a free-lance basis. 388 physicians planned to use the services of an agency for free-lance work. CONCLUSION: While employers supported course attendance in more than 50%, the majority of the participants had to organise the practical training on the ambulance during free time. Only 58% planned to work on the ambulance as part of their regular job or 53% on a free-lance basis. Other participants attended in preparation for work in urgent-care or to gain competence in handling in-hospital emergencies.
Subject(s)
Emergency Medical Services , Emergency Medicine , Physicians , Adult , Ambulances , Humans , Motivation , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Preclinical pediatric emergencies are rare events and are therefore often associated with stress and uncertainty for emergency medical service personnel. To ensure adequate treatment of pediatric patients a variety of different cognitive aids exist (e.g. books, apps, rulers, weight-adapted bag systems). Especially the size specifications of the medical equipment and the dosage of emergency medication are individually very different in children and are dependent on parameters, such as body height and weight. Therefore, cognitive aids often enable length measurement whereby it is possible to draw conclusions on body weight for calculating the child's medication dosage. These aids may help to avoid the wrong medication dose or the wrong therapy of children but uncritical and untrained usage of these aids carries a potential risk of mistakes. This recommendation gives an overview of the general requirements and different problems of cognitive aids and should help improve the general framework and the rational basis for the use and further development of cognitive aids in emergency medicine.
Subject(s)
Audiovisual Aids/statistics & numerical data , Emergency Medical Services/methods , Pediatrics/methods , Adolescent , Body Height , Body Weight , Child , Child, Preschool , Consensus , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Medication Errors/prevention & control , Pharmaceutical Preparations/administration & dosageSubject(s)
Athletes , Bicycling , Carotid Artery, Internal, Dissection/diagnostic imaging , Muscle Weakness/etiology , Paresthesia/etiology , Adult , Computed Tomography Angiography , Diagnosis, Differential , Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Headache/diagnostic imaging , Headache/etiology , Humans , Male , Muscle Weakness/diagnostic imaging , Neurologic Examination , Paresthesia/diagnostic imaging , Tomography, X-Ray Computed , Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color , Vertigo/diagnostic imaging , Vertigo/etiology , Vision Disorders/diagnostic imaging , Vision Disorders/etiologyABSTRACT
Good management of acute stroke is dependent on time and expertise. In Germany emergency medical care by ambulance services sometimes occurs without an emergency physician being sent to the scene. By reviewing current literature the question of patient care in the ambulance with or without an emergency physician is discussed. Presence of an emergency physician at the scene results in high diagnostic accuracy, allows for invasive procedures to be carried out, and enables referral to a specialist centre with a stroke-unit. The "rendezvous" system of separate deployment of patient ambulance and emergency physician allow flexible assignment of the physician resulting in short response times. Current research does not support a turn away from the deployment of an emergency physician in cases of acute stroke.
Subject(s)
Allied Health Personnel , Cooperative Behavior , Emergency Medical Services/methods , Emergency Medicine , Interdisciplinary Communication , National Health Programs , Stroke/therapy , Ambulances , Clinical Competence , Germany , Hospitals, Special , Humans , Neurologic Examination , Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care , Patient Care Team , Predictive Value of Tests , Referral and Consultation , Stroke/diagnosisABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Acute stroke is a time- and expertise-critical emergency. An immediate and correct diagnosis by emergency medical services (EMS) in the prehospital phase and patient transfer to the nearest adequate hospital with a stroke unit is required for early treatment of acute stroke. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We evaluated all patients who were admitted by the EMS of Münster to one of the two stroke units in the town between October 2008 and December 2010 with a diagnosis of acute stroke. Furthermore all patients were critically analyzed who were admitted without a diagnosis of acute stroke by the EMS but nonetheless had a stroke and the correct diagnosis was not found until examination in the neurological department. RESULTS: We analyzed 615 patients who were admitted to the stroke units with the diagnosis of acute stroke. In 561 cases (91%) this diagnosis could be confirmed, but in 54 patients (9%) the diagnosis by the EMS was incorrect. Epileptic seizure was the most frequent false-positive diagnosis in this group of patients (39%; n = 21). Although the acute symptoms were caused by a stroke, the correct diagnosis was not defined by the EMS in 127 patients. This accounted for 18% of all patients admitted to the emergency departments by the EMS where ultimately a stroke was diagnosed. In 24% of these cases (n = 30) the emergency doctor missed the correct diagnosis, which meant 4% of all patients admitted by the EMS, finally diagnosed with an acute stroke. In all other cases in the group with a false-negative diagnosis (76% or 97 patients) an emergency doctor was not involved in the referral by the EMS. CONCLUSION: Emergency medical services should be involved in the establishment of admission programs for acute stroke patients to provide the fastest means of transportation to a stroke unit. Coma, symptoms of posterior cerebral circulation and epileptic seizures cause difficulties in ensuring an immediate and correct diagnosis. Sending an emergency doctor to the scene increases diagnostic certainty which is essential to initiate early treatment.
Subject(s)
Diagnostic Errors/prevention & control , Diagnostic Errors/statistics & numerical data , Stroke/diagnosis , Stroke/epidemiology , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Emergency Medical Services , Female , Germany/epidemiology , Health Care Rationing , Humans , Male , Prevalence , Quality Assurance, Health Care , Reproducibility of Results , Risk Factors , Sensitivity and Specificity , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Demographic development and changes in healthcare utilization have led to a rising number of calls for emergency services. In Germany life-threatening situations are responded by physician-staffed ambulances in a 2-tier system whereas paramedic-staffed ambulances are dispatched in non-life-threatening emergencies. A nationwide protocol guides dispatchers in triage decisions. In the years 1999 to 2009 a continuous rise in the number of calls for a physician-staffed ambulance in Münster was recorded. The degree of healthcare utilization according to socioeconomic status and age structure was retrospectively examined. METHODS: For the year 2006 all emergency calls in the City of Münster responded to by physician-staffed ambulances were analyzed. Each call was assigned to 1 of the 45 urban districts. The local incidence of emergency calls (calls/100 residents/year) was determined and compared to the socioeconomic status which was defined as the percentage of welfare and unemployment benefit recipients per district. Patient condition was assessed by the Munich National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (M-NACA) score. This scoring system allows calls to be allocated to either life-threatening conditions or non-life-threatening conditions by objective vital parameters. The age structure of the emergency callers was also examined. RESULTS: Urban districts with a low socioeconomic status showed a higher incidence of emergency calls requiring physician-staffed ambulance responses than districts with a high socioeconomic status. Measured by the M-NACA scoring system, the fraction of life-threatening emergencies among all calls proved to be equal to districts with a high socioeconomic status. A correlation between elderly patients and increasing numbers of life-threatening emergencies was found. CONCLUSIONS: A low socioeconomic status of an urban district will result in more ambulance responses. However, the proportion of life-threatening emergencies is equal to districts with a high socioeconomic status. Thus, the greater need for physician-staffed ambulance responses matches clinical needs and legitimates current resource use in a 2-tier ambulance system. Indications for the abuse of physician-staffed ambulances were not found. Considering an aging population the number of emergency calls will rise in the future.
Subject(s)
Emergency Medical Services/statistics & numerical data , Adolescent , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Ambulances , Child , Child, Preschool , Databases, Factual , Emergencies/epidemiology , Female , Germany , Health Services Needs and Demand , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Male , Middle Aged , Social Class , Socioeconomic Factors , Urban Population , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The outcome of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) depends on the quality of chest compressions. Current European Resuscitation Council (ERC) guidelines promote the development of feedback systems. However, no studies presenting satisfactory results of feedback use have been published. METHODS: A total of 60 patients with cardiac arrest (> or =18 years of age) received resuscitation attempts using an automated external defibrillator (AED) with real-time feedback by the ambulance service of the City of Münster. The frequency of chest compressions, no-flow time (NFT) and depth of chest compressions were analyzed for the first three cycles of CPR and compared to the ERC guidelines 2005. RESULTS: Chest compression frequency did not differ significantly from the ideal as set out in the guidelines. Analysis of NFTs showed significantly longer NFT for the first cycle but NFT for the second and third cycles did not differ significantly from the ideal. The target depth of 4-5 cm was achieved in 80% of all chest compressions in the first 3 cycles. CONCLUSION: With the AED real-time feedback technology used in this study standardized performance of chest compressions could be maintained in a professional ambulance service. Implementation of a feedback system requires training of ambulance staff.