Characteristics of paediatric patients with altered conscious state attended by road ambulances in a metropolitan area - An 8 year observational study.


Journal

Australasian emergency care
ISSN: 2588-994X
Titre abrégé: Australas Emerg Care
Pays: Australia
ID NLM: 101727782

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
Sep 2020
Historique:
received: 15 08 2019
revised: 25 02 2020
accepted: 25 02 2020
pubmed: 1 7 2020
medline: 19 5 2021
entrez: 30 6 2020
Statut: ppublish

Résumé

Out-of-hospital paediatric emergencies represent are rare and little is known about characteristics of paediatric patients with severe illness. This study seeks to describe the paediatric population with altered conscious state. A retrospective electronic data review was conducted of paediatric patients (≤ 4 years) attended by road ambulances between January 2006 and December 2013. Patients with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score ≤9 were included. A total of 4533 children were included in the study, 55.9% of which were male. The majority of patients (48.7%) were between one and four years old. Pre-existing neurologic conditions were identified in 26.8% of patients. Seizures were the most common reason for emergency call (68.7%) and were more frequent in children 1-4 years (80.4%) than in <1 year (32.6%), 5-8 years (75.3%) or 9-14 years (53.9%, p < 0.001). Vital signs (heart rate, systolic blood pressure, oxygen saturation, GCS) improved or remained stable from time of first contact with Emergency Medical Service (EMS) to arrival at hospital. Seizure was the most common reason for ambulance attendances to children with altered conscious state, and most frequently occurred in preschool children. Pre-existing conditions were frequent. Vital signs and level of conscious stateof patients improved during paramedic management.

Sections du résumé

BACKGROUND BACKGROUND
Out-of-hospital paediatric emergencies represent are rare and little is known about characteristics of paediatric patients with severe illness. This study seeks to describe the paediatric population with altered conscious state.
METHODS METHODS
A retrospective electronic data review was conducted of paediatric patients (≤ 4 years) attended by road ambulances between January 2006 and December 2013. Patients with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score ≤9 were included.
RESULTS RESULTS
A total of 4533 children were included in the study, 55.9% of which were male. The majority of patients (48.7%) were between one and four years old. Pre-existing neurologic conditions were identified in 26.8% of patients. Seizures were the most common reason for emergency call (68.7%) and were more frequent in children 1-4 years (80.4%) than in <1 year (32.6%), 5-8 years (75.3%) or 9-14 years (53.9%, p < 0.001). Vital signs (heart rate, systolic blood pressure, oxygen saturation, GCS) improved or remained stable from time of first contact with Emergency Medical Service (EMS) to arrival at hospital.
CONCLUSIONS CONCLUSIONS
Seizure was the most common reason for ambulance attendances to children with altered conscious state, and most frequently occurred in preschool children. Pre-existing conditions were frequent. Vital signs and level of conscious stateof patients improved during paramedic management.

Identifiants

pubmed: 32595108
pii: S2588-994X(20)30022-1
doi: 10.1016/j.auec.2020.02.006
pii:
doi:

Types de publication

Journal Article Observational Study

Langues

eng

Sous-ensembles de citation

IM

Pagination

142-146

Informations de copyright

Copyright © 2020 College of Emergency Nursing Australasia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Auteurs

Stefan Heschl (S)

Ambulance Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria. Electronic address: stefan.heschl@medunigraz.at.

Stephen Bernard (S)

Ambulance Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Intensive Care Unit, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Emily Andrew (E)

Ambulance Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Karen Smith (K)

Ambulance Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Department of Community Emergency Health and Paramedic Practice, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Articles similaires

[Redispensing of expensive oral anticancer medicines: a practical application].

Lisanne N van Merendonk, Kübra Akgöl, Bastiaan Nuijen
1.00
Humans Antineoplastic Agents Administration, Oral Drug Costs Counterfeit Drugs

Smoking Cessation and Incident Cardiovascular Disease.

Jun Hwan Cho, Seung Yong Shin, Hoseob Kim et al.
1.00
Humans Male Smoking Cessation Cardiovascular Diseases Female
Humans United States Aged Cross-Sectional Studies Medicare Part C
1.00
Humans Yoga Low Back Pain Female Male

Classifications MeSH