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If We Open the Door–An Analysis of Prehospital Emergency Cases with the Need to Force the Door Open from Dresden, Germany

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 July 2023

Mark Frank ,
Katja Petrowski ,
Wladimir Haacke  and
Yacin Keller
Mark Frank
Affiliation:
Municipal Hospital Dresden, Dpt. of Emergency Medicine; Academic Teaching Hospital of the Technical University, Dresden, Germany German Air Rescue (DRF Stiftung Luftrettung gAG, Dresden, Germany
Katja Petrowski
Affiliation:
University Hospital Mainz; Dpt. of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociolgy, Mainz, Germany
Wladimir Haacke
Affiliation:
Fire and Rescue Department, Dresden, Germany
Yacin Keller
Affiliation:
Fire and Rescue Department, Dresden, Germany Municipal Hospital Dresden, Dpt. of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine; Academic TEaching Hospital of the Technical University, Dresden, Germany
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Abstract

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Introduction:

Germany is a highly developed country. Nevertheless, there are reports that people have supply problems or die lonely and alone in their homes. Despite a differentiated social system, there seem to be significant gaps for individuals or old people. The rescue service is often involved in situations with unclear emergency calls or calls from third parties regarding social and supply problems. In some emergency cases the rescue service is alerted to someone's home but there is no response. Depending on the available information, a timely decision must be made to have the opportunity for life-saving. The door opening procedure is executed by the fire department. Afterward, the medical emergency teams take over. The goal of the study is to analyze findings discovered after opening the door.

Method:

Data of all emergencies from the dispatch center of Dresden operated by the fire and rescue department between January 2021 and December 2021 were recorded and transferred to a central database. All cases with the need to force the door open were extracted and analyzed.

Results:

There was a total number of 157.522 cases of emergency. In 847 cases the door was opened by the fire department. After door opening there was no emergency reported in 265 cases. 100 patients were found dead, six patients had cardiac arrest and received cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and 310 patients were transported to a hospital. The causes for emergencies were social problems, downfall and injuries, hypoglycemia, convulsion, stroke, psychiatric emergencies, dementia and suicide attempt. The mean age was 71 [18-103], 54,15% of patients were female.

Conclusion:

There is a high number of emergencies with the need to open the door. The number of patients transported to a hospital is also high and justified the procedure. Since numerous patients were found dead, this underlines a gap in the German social system.

Type
Poster Presentations
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 38 , Supplement S1: 22nd Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine , May 2023 , pp. s145
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine