RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Pre-hospital emergency medical services: a population based study of pediatric utilization JF Injury Prevention JO Inj Prev FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd SP 294 OP 297 DO 10.1136/ip.5.4.294 VO 5 IS 4 A1 Suruda, Anthony A1 Vernon, Donald D A1 Reading, James A1 Cook, Larry A1 Nechodom, Patricia A1 Leonard, Daniel A1 Dean, J Michael YR 1999 UL http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/5/4/294.abstract AB Objectives—To examine emergency medical services (EMS) usage by children in one state. Methods—Dispatch of an EMS vehicle in response to a call in the US is referred to as a “run”. Runs for Utah for 1991–92 were linked to corresponding hospital records. Abbreviated injury severity scores (AISs) were assigned using ICDMAP-90 software. Results—For the two year period there were at least 15 EMS runs per 100 children per year, with incomplete reporting from rural areas. EMS response and scene times were similar for all age groups, but interventions were less frequent for children under 5 years of age. When the principal AIS region of injury was the head, neck, or face, cervical immobilization was less frequent for children less than 5 years of age (54%) than for older children (76%) and immobilization was associated with improved outcome, using the crude measure of lower hospital charges. There was a similar association between splinting of upper extremity fractures and reduced hospital charges. Both associations did not appear to be due to differences in injury severity. Conclusions—The majority of EMS use by children is for trauma. Children less than 5 years of age are less likely to have an EMS intervention than older children. Whether the lower frequency of interventions is due to the lack of properly sized equipment on the vehicle, or to other factors, is undetermined.