Original contribution
Epidemiology of pediatric prehospital care

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0196-0644(87)80173-7Get rights and content

Very few studies about prehospital care of pediatric emergencies have been published. With new interest in emergency care of the pediatric population demonstrated by the development of Pediatric Advanced Life Support and Advanced Pediatric Life Support, it is imperative to have data that define the different types of problems encountered in the prehospital care setting and their outcomes. Prehospital assessment forms were reviewed retrospectively over a consecutive 12-month period beginning August 1, 1983. Patients under 19 years of age were studied in a service area with a population of 557,700. A total of 3,184 forms were analyzed, representing approximately 10% of all ambulance runs. This contrasts sharply with the fact that the pediatric age group represents 32% of the population. The major users were the youngest and the oldest of the pediatric population. Of the cases, 54.4% were in the trauma category. The largest trauma group was motor vehicle accidents in the adolescent age group. Male patients predominated in the trauma cases. Medical disorders were the major reason for prehospital care in the very young. The demand for emergency medical services (EMS) occurred mainly during the summer months and on weekends. More than 50 percent of all EMS pediatric cases occurred during the hours of 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Advanced life support was associated with prolonged on-scene time and had a relatively low use and success rate in the younger pediatric population. Resuscitation of 23 cases of pediatric prehospital arrest resulted in no survivors to hospital discharge. The appropriateness of prolonged time spent on scene (mean of 18.3 minutes in 1,196 cases) for prehospital pediatric emergencies requires further evaluation.

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Cited by (149)

  • Differences in Prehospital Patient Assessments for Pediatric Versus Adult Patients

    2018, Journal of Pediatrics
    Citation Excerpt :

    Our finding that pediatric cases constituted 6% of EMS transports is generally consistent with the reported EMS literature,2,4,7,10,13,14 including an analysis from the 2013 NEMSIS Public Release Research Data Set.11 The most common reasons for pediatric transports included traumatic and respiratory conditions, a finding also reported in other pediatric prehospital studies1,11,13 and further emphasizes the importance of obtaining a thorough assessment for these common pediatric complaints. A variety of factors may underlie the discrepancies in assessment of pediatric vital signs.

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Presented at the University Association for Emergency Medicine Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon, May 1986.

Research grant provided by Medical Research Committee, Valley Medical Center, Fresno, California. Computer analysis provided by the Computer Center, University of California San Francisco, Fresno, California.

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