TY - JOUR

T1 - Criteria-based dispatch of emergency medical services in non-traumatic subarachnoid haemorrhage

AU - Sonne, Asger

AU - Andersen, Jesper Borg

AU - Eskesen, Vagn

AU - Lippert, Freddy

AU - Waldorff, Frans Boch

AU - Bang, Christine Winther

AU - Siersma, Volkert

AU - Lohse, Nicolai

AU - Rasmussen, Lars Simon

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Introduction: Timely admission to a facility capable of providing highly specialised treatment is key in patients with spontaneous subarachnoid haemorrhage. We aimed to determine the time elapsed from the initial emergency telephone call to arrival at a neurosurgical department. Also, we aimed to determine the ambulance dispatch criteria used and the activated prehospital responses. Methods: This was a retrospective study. Patients admitted in the Capital Region of Denmark within a 3.5-year period were identified in the Danish National Patient Register. Data were extracted from medical records and from automated telephone logs at the Emergency Medical Dispatch Centre. Results: Time intervals were available in 124 out of 262 patients and ambulance dispatch criteria in 98 patients. The median time from call to neurosurgical admission was 207.5 minutes. The dispatch criterion sudden severe headache had a sensitivity of 17.4%. An ambulance with lights and sirens was dispatched to 77% of patients and 28% were brought directly to a hospital with neurosurgical facilities. Conclusions: The median time from emergency call to neurosurgical admission was 3.5 hours. No single dispatch criterion detected the condition with an acceptable sensitivity. A high proportion of patients received an ambulance with lights and sirens, but more than two out of three were not initially brought to a hospital with neurosurgical facilities. Funding: the non-profit organisation Trygfonden Trial registration: NCT03786068 (www.clinicaltrials.gov)

AB - Introduction: Timely admission to a facility capable of providing highly specialised treatment is key in patients with spontaneous subarachnoid haemorrhage. We aimed to determine the time elapsed from the initial emergency telephone call to arrival at a neurosurgical department. Also, we aimed to determine the ambulance dispatch criteria used and the activated prehospital responses. Methods: This was a retrospective study. Patients admitted in the Capital Region of Denmark within a 3.5-year period were identified in the Danish National Patient Register. Data were extracted from medical records and from automated telephone logs at the Emergency Medical Dispatch Centre. Results: Time intervals were available in 124 out of 262 patients and ambulance dispatch criteria in 98 patients. The median time from call to neurosurgical admission was 207.5 minutes. The dispatch criterion sudden severe headache had a sensitivity of 17.4%. An ambulance with lights and sirens was dispatched to 77% of patients and 28% were brought directly to a hospital with neurosurgical facilities. Conclusions: The median time from emergency call to neurosurgical admission was 3.5 hours. No single dispatch criterion detected the condition with an acceptable sensitivity. A high proportion of patients received an ambulance with lights and sirens, but more than two out of three were not initially brought to a hospital with neurosurgical facilities. Funding: the non-profit organisation Trygfonden Trial registration: NCT03786068 (www.clinicaltrials.gov)

KW - TIME

M3 - Journal article

VL - 68

JO - Danish Medical Journal

JF - Danish Medical Journal

SN - 2245-1919

IS - 9

M1 - 02210152

ER -