Within out-of-hospital emergencies, Primary Health Care (PHC) pediatricians will likely be the first to provide health care at the scene of a life-threatening emergency (LTE) in children. Pediatricians should be trained to initially intervene, safely and effectively the LTEs, including the activation of Emergency Medical Systems (EMS), an adequate stabilization of patients and transport to the hospital.

The aims of this study are to know the training received for out-of-hospital LTEs by PHC pediatricians of the Principality of Asturias (Spain) and the perception they have about their own theoretical knowledge and practical skills in a series of emergency procedures used in LTEs; also, to analyze the differences according to the geographical context of their work.

This was a cross-sectional, descriptive, and observational study of a sample of 27 PHC pediatricians from PHC Service of Asturias, Spain, from among the total of 88 pediatricians who make up the staff of pediatricians, conducted from April through May 2019. The survey was designed ad hoc using the Curriculum in Primary Care Pediatrics (CPCP) proposed by the European Confederation of Primary Care Pediatricians (ECPCP; Europe), which indicates the theoretical and practical procedures that must be acquired by the PHC pediatricians. It is composed of 30 procedures or techniques employed in LTEs using a 11-point Likert scale rating to detect their self-perception about theoretical knowledge and practical skills from zero (“Minimum”) to 10 (“Maximum”).

There are significant differences in the mean of theoretical knowledge and practical skills in many procedures or techniques studied, depending on the different areas of work.

Asturian pediatricians are generally well-prepared to solve LTEs with a few exceptions. The degree of self-perception and acquisition of general theoretical knowledge and general practical skills in LTEs is heterogeneous, with differences according to the scope of work.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a serious condition that may lead to long-term disabilities placing financial and social burden on patients and their families, as well as their communities. Spinal immobilization has been considered the standard prehospital care for suspected SCI patients. However, there is a lack of consensus on its beneficial impact on patients’ outcome.

This paper reviews the current literature on the epidemiology of traumatic SCI and the practice of prehospital spinal immobilization.

A search of literature was undertaken utilizing the online databases Ovid Medline, PubMed, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library. The search included English language publications from January 2000 through November 2012.

The reported annual incidence of SCI ranges from 12.7 to 52.2 per 1 million and occurs more commonly among males than females. Motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) are the major reported causes of traumatic SCI among young and middle-aged patients, and falls are the major reported causes among patients older than 55. There is little evidence regarding the relationship between prehospital spinal immobilization and patient neurological outcomes. However, early patient transfer (8-24 hours) to spinal care units and effective resuscitation have been demonstrated to lead to better neurological outcomes.

This review reaffirms the need for further research to validate the advantages, disadvantages, and the effects of spinal immobilization on patients’ neurological outcomes.

OteirAO , SmithK , JenningsPA , StoelwinderJU . The Prehospital Management of Suspected Spinal Cord Injury: An Update. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(4):1-4.

International literature describing the profile of trauma patients attended by a statewide emergency medical services (EMS) system is lacking. Most literature is limited to descriptions of trauma responses for a single emergency medical service, or to patients transported to a specific Level-1 trauma hospital. There is no Victorian or Australian literature describing the type of trauma patients transported by a state emergency medical service.

The purpose of this study was to define a profile of all trauma incidents attended by statewide EMS.

A retrospective cohort study of all patient care records (PCR) for trauma responses attended by Victorian Ambulance Services for 2002 was conducted. Criteria for trauma categories were defined previously, and data were extracted from the PCRs and entered into a secure data repository for descriptive analysis to determine the trauma profile. Ethics committee approval was obtained.

There were 53,039 trauma incidents attended by emergency ambulances during the 12-month period. Of these, 1,566 patients were in physiological distress, 11,086 had a significant pattern of injury, and a further 8,931 had an identifiable mechanism of injury. The profile includes minor trauma (n = 9,342), standing falls (n = 20,511), no patient transported (n = 3,687), and deceased patients (n = 459).

This is a unique analysis of prehospital trauma. It provides a baseline dataset that may be utilized in future studies of prehospital trauma care. Additionally, this dataset identifies a ten-fold difference in major trauma between the prehospital and the hospital assessments.

Almost all North American cities have first responder programs. To date there is no published documentation of the roles first responders play, nor of the frequency and type of interventions they perform. Many urban stakeholders question the utility and safety of routinely dispatching large vehicles emergently to calls that may not require their services. Real world data on first responder interventions will help emergency medical services (EMS) directors and planners determine manpower requirements, assess training needs, and optimize dispatch protocols to reduce the rate of inappropriate “code 3” (lights and siren) responses.

Our objectives were to determine how often first responders arrive first on scene, to estimate the time interval between first response and EMS response, and to examine the frequency and type of interventions performed by first responders.

In a prospective observational study, trained observers were assigned to fire department first responder (FDFR) units. These observers recorded on-scene times for FDFR and EMS units, and documented the performance of first responder interventions.

FDFRs arrived first on scene in 49% of code 3 calls. They performed critical interventions in 18% of calls attended and 36% of calls where they arrived first. Oxygen administration was the most frequent critical intervention, yet occult hypoxemia was common and compliance with oxygen administration protocols was poor.

First responders perform critical interventions during a minority of code 3 calls, even when “critical” is defined generously. Many “lights and siren” dispatches are unnecessary. Future research should attempt to identify dispatch criteria that more accurately predict the need for first responder intervention. First responder training and continuous quality improvement (CQI) should focus on interventions that are performed with some regularity, particularly oxygen administration.