Effectiveness of prehospital care
Ryynanen O, Iirola T, Reitala J, Palve H, Malmivaara A
Record ID 32008100218
Finnish
Original Title:
Ensihoidon vaikuttavuus. Järjestelmällinen kirjallisuuskatsaus
Authors' objectives:
The aim of this systematic review is to compare the effectiveness of ALSand BLS-level prehospital care. The review covers all patient groups (e.g. trauma, cardiac disease, cardiac arrest, respiratory distress, convulsions) and all vehicles used for transportation (ground ambulance or helicopter used in the transportation of the team or the patient, or both). The articles were accepted if the ALS-level prehospital care was compared to the BLS-level, or two different ALS-level systems were compared (e.g. physician-ALS compared to paramedic-ALS), or ALS-level prehospital care was compared with any other treatment (e.g. ALS-level care compared to patient transport by laypersons). The outcome variables were mortality or patient’s health-related quality of life or patient’s capacity to perform daily activities.
Authors' recommendations:
The majority of research on trauma favours a scoop and run -approach (rapid transportation to hospital with minimal prehospital procedures) in the case of a penetrating trauma, with a short distance to hospital. In the literature, no evidence about the effectiveness of paramedic-level ALS care is found, and ALS-treatment by paramedics may be associated with increased mortality compared to BLS. ALS by an experienced physician seems to be more effective than paramedic-level ALS or BLS. However, results are contradictory. Possiblythe effectiveness of ALS is greater when delays are long. Hardly any research exists on several patient groups needing emergency care (e.g. stroke, poisoning, drowning, breathing difficulty). The development of prehospital care requires uniform and full documentation of patients as well as follow-ups on effectiveness.
Details
Project Status:
Completed
Year Published:
2008
English language abstract:
An English language summary is available
Publication Type:
Not Assigned
Country:
Finland
MeSH Terms
- Emergency Medical Services
- Point-of-Care Systems
- Quality Assurance, Health Care
Contact
Organisation Name:
Finnish Coordinating Center for Health Technology Assessment
Contact Address:
Finnish Office for Health Care Technology Assessment (Finohta)
Contact Name:
.
Contact Email:
fincchta@ppshp.fi
Copyright:
Finnish Office for Health Care Technology Assessment (FinOHTA)