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Prehospital Emergency Medical Services Departure Interval: Does Patient Age Matter?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2016

Bruno Schnegg ,
Mathieu Pasquier ,
Pierre-Nicolas Carron ,
Bertrand Yersin  and
Fabrice Dami
Bruno Schnegg
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, University Hospital Centre (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
Mathieu Pasquier
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, University Hospital Centre (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
Pierre-Nicolas Carron
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, University Hospital Centre (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
Bertrand Yersin
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, University Hospital Centre (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
Fabrice Dami*
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, University Hospital Centre (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland Emergency Medical Services, Dispatch Centre, State of Vaud (Foundation Urgences-Santé), Lausanne, Switzerland
*
Correspondence: Fabrice Dami, MD Emergency Department University Hospital Centre (CHUV) Lausanne, Switzerland E-mail: fabrice.dami@chuv.ch
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Abstract

Introduction

The concept of response time with minimal interval is intimately related to the practice of emergency medicine. The factors influencing this time interval are poorly understood.

Problem

In a process of improvement of response time, the impact of the patient’s age on ambulance departure intervals was investigated.

Method

This was a 3-year observational study. Departure intervals of ambulances, according to age of patients, were analyzed and a multivariate analysis, according to time of day and suspected medical problem, was performed.

Results

A total of 44,113 missions were included, 2,417 (5.5%) in the pediatric group. Mean departure delay for the adult group was 152.9 seconds, whereas it was 149.3 seconds for the pediatric group (P =.018).

Conclusion

A statistically significant departure interval difference between missions for children and adults was found. The difference, however, probably was not significant from a clinical point of view (four seconds).

SchneggB, PasquierM, CarronPN, YersinB, DamiF. Prehospital Emergency Medical Services Departure Interval: Does Patient Age Matter?Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31(6):608–613.

Keywords

departure intervalEMSpediatrics
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 31 , Issue 6 , December 2016 , pp. 608 - 613
Copyright
© World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2016 

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