Epidemiology and outcomes of out of hospital cardiac arrest in Saudi Arabia: Findings from the Saudi Out of Hospital cardiac Arrest Registry (SOHAR).

Aim: The Saudi Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Registry (SOHAR) is the first out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) registry in Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to describe the epidemiology and outcomes of OHCA in Saudi Arabia. Methods: The SOHAR is a prospective data collection system. Data were collected monthly from defined regions, and registry measured variables were adopted from the Utstein recommendations. Results: During the period from 01/01/2019 to 31/12/2022, 3671 patients were included in the registry. The mean age was 62 years, and 6.5% (240) of patients were under the age of 18 years. The most common cause of OHCA was medical 3439 (93.6%). A total of 641 (17.4%) and 129 (3.9%) had presumed cardiac and respiratory causes. Additionally, most OHCA in Saudi Arabia (3034, 82.6%) occurred at home. Prehospital Return Of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSC) was achieved in 275 (7.4%) cases, and 491 (13.3%) patients were pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. Survival to hospital discharge was achieved in 107 (2.9%) of the cases, and good neurological outcomes, defined as a Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) of 1-3, occurred in < 0.5% of patients. Conclusion: The Saudi out-of-hospital ROSC was 7.4%. The survival to hospital discharge rate was 2.9%, and less than 1% of patients were discharged with good neurological outcomes. Further research and the continuation of registry data collection is highly recommended. Additionally, a national-level out-of-hospital cardiac arrest system is recommended to ensure the standardization of medical care provided to patients with OHCA.

Shortening Door-to-Balloon Time: The Use of Ambulance versus Private Vehicle for Patients with ST-Segment Elevation Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Purpose: Time is critical when dealing with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients in the Emergency Department (ED), as 90 min is crucial for overall health. Using non-EMS transportation for critical patients, such as patients with acute myocardial infarction, to a hospital might delay the rapid identification of the underlying medical disease and initiating definitive treatment. We aim to evaluate the association between the mode of transportation and the D2B time in patients presenting at the ED with AMI. Patients and Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study with patients who presented at ED with AMI and underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The participants were patients with confirmed AMI at the ED of King Abdullah Medical City (KAMC) from January 2019 to December 2019. Results: In total, 162 AMI patients were enrolled in the study and divided based on the method of transportation. Less than half (n=65, 40.1%) were transported with an ambulance and 97 (59.9%) patients with a private car. The door-to-balloon (D2B) time for the ambulance group was 93.6±38.31 minutes, and the private car group was 93.8±30.88 minutes. Conclusion: There was no statistical significance when comparing the D2B time between the private car group and the ambulance group (P = 0.1870). Finally, ambulance transport significantly shortened the time to first ED physician contact. However, it was not associated with shortened D2B time when compared to private vehicle transport.

The Ability of Emergency Medical Service Staff to Predict Emergency Department Disposition: A Prospective Study.

Purpose: Paramedics' decision to notify receiving hospitals and transport patients to an appropriate healthcare facility is based on the Prediction of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Hospital Admissions guide. This study aimed to assess the paramedics' gestalt on both ward and ICU admission. Patients and Methods: A prospective study was conducted at King Abdulaziz Medical City between September 2021 and March 2022. Paramedics were asked several questions related to the prediction of the patient's hospital outcome, including emergency department (ED) discharge or hospital admission (ICU or ward). Additional data, such as the time of the ambulance's arrival and the staff years of experience, were collected. The categorical characteristics are presented by frequency and percentage for each category. Results: This study included 251 paramedics and 251 patients. The average age of the patients was 62 years. Of the patients, 32 (12.7%) were trauma, and 219 (87.3%) were non-trauma patients. Two-thirds of the patients (n=171, 68.1%) were predicted to be admitted to the hospital, and 80 (31.8%) of the EMS staff indicated that the patient do not need a hospital or an ambulance. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of the emergency medical service (EMS) staffs' gestalt for patient admission to the hospital were, respectively (77%), (33%), (16%), and (90%). Further analysis was reported to defend the EMS staffs' gestalt based on the level of EMS staff and the nature of the emergency (medical vs trauma), are reported. Conclusion: Our study reports a low level of accurately predicting patient admission to the hospital, including the ICU. The results of this study have important implications for enhancing the accuracy of EMS staff predictive ability and ensuring that patients receive appropriate care promptly.

Evaluation of the psychological distress and mental well-being of pre-hospital care providers in Saudi Arabia during COVID-19.

Background: Pre-hospital care providers are the first line of contact when emergencies occur. They are at high risk of mental health disorders associated with trauma and stress. The magnitude of their stress could increase during difficult times such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives: This study reports on the state of mental well-being and the degree of psychological distress among pre-hospital care workers (paramedics, emergency medical technicians, doctors, paramedic interns and other healthcare practitioners) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional survey study in Saudi Arabia. A questionnaire was distributed among pre-hospital care workers in Saudi Arabia during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The questionnaire was based on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) and the World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5). Results: In total, 427 pre-hospital care providers completed the questionnaire; 60% of the respondents had scores of more than 30 in the K10 and were likely to have a severe disorder. The WHO-5 showed a similar percentage of respondents with a score of more than 50 and coded as having poor well-being. Conclusions: The findings of this study provide evidence around mental health and well-being for pre-hospital care workers. They also highlight the need to better understand the quality of mental health and well-being for this population and to provide appropriate interventions to improve their quality of life.

The Intersection of Health Rehabilitation Services with Quality of Life in Saudi Arabia: Current Status and Future Needs.

Quality of life (QoL) is essential for maintaining a healthy, balanced lifestyle, especially among individuals with chronic diseases. Saudi Arabia (SA) launched a health sector transformation program as part of the nationwide Vision 2030 initiative to ensure the sustainable development of efficient healthcare services, aiming to improve health by increasing well-being and QoL. More investigation into the current status of health rehabilitation services provided to individuals with chronic diseases and future needs to optimize services and improve QoL is needed. This was narratively discussed by experts from different health rehabilitation services in SA. Comprehensive health rehabilitation services including orthopedic, occupational, cardiac, pulmonary, critical care, perioperative, hearing and speech, substance use disorders, and vocational rehabilitation services were addressed. Health rehabilitation services in SA, as in other countries, are suboptimal for individuals in health rehabilitation programs. To optimize the QoL of individuals with chronic diseases, health rehabilitation services should be tailored based on the unique requirements of each service and its serving patients. The shared need to improve health rehabilitation services includes the adoption of home-based and telehealth services, the integration of multi-governmental sectors, the empowerment and allocation of health rehabilitation specialists, public awareness campaigns, policy legislation and guideline development, and the implementation of a long-term follow-up system. This review is one of the first to address the intersection of health rehabilitation services and QoL in SA; urgent and holistic actions are paramount to address the pressing need to optimize SA's health rehabilitation services. The experts' recommendations in this study may be applicable to other countries' health systems, as health rehabilitation services are not well optimized globally.

National research guideline for prehospital emergency medical care: A prospective Delphi-study.

OBJECTIVES: To identify the most important research topics to establish a national research agenda and protocol for prehospital research in Saudi Arabia (KSA). METHODS: A 3-round modified Delphi consensus methods were used to determine high-priority research topics. Round I included an open-ended question to list all high-priority research topics in a prehospital setting in Riyadh, KSA. Rounds II and III included ranking evaluation and consensus agreement. The included topics were listed based on the agreement of ≥70% of the experts participating in the study. The study was carried out between November 2021 and February 2022. RESULTS: In total, 100 prehospital experts in KSA were invited to participate in all 3 rounds. Of these, 47 responded in round I, 34 in round II, and 39 in round III. In round I, participants submitted 278 research topics. After deduplication and sorting, 78 topics were assessed in the other 2 rounds. CONCLUSION: In this modified Delphi study, an expert panel identified the top prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) care research priorities. The leading research priorities included clinical and operational ideas. The proposed 32 high-priority topics can be used to guide researchers, research networks, policymakers, and funding organizations involved in EMS.

One of the Team Is Down! An On-Duty Paramedic in Prolonged Cardiac Arrest.

A 29-year-old male paramedic on duty in a hospital-based emergency medical service system presented to the emergency room with complaints of chronic midback pain. In 2019, when the patient was on duty and complained of back pain for over 3 days, his supervisor instructed him to go to the emergency room. The patient collapsed and went into cardiac arrest; he received a total of 16 doses of 1 mg epinephrine (10 mL of a 1:10,000 solution), 2 doses of amiodarone, 1 dose of sodium bicarbonate, and an infusion of beta blocker agents, which were administered throughout the resuscitation that lasted for 63 minutes. The patient was discharged 27 days later with a patient cerebral performance category score of 1 and no neurologic deficit. Prolongation of resuscitation attempts can result in good outcomes for selected patients.

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) Outbreak at King Abdul-Aziz Medical City-Riyadh from Emergency Medical Services Perspective.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a form of an infectious respiratory disease, discovered in November 2012 in Saudi Arabia. According to the World Health Organization (WHO; Geneva, Switzerland) reports, a total of 2,519 laboratory-confirmed cases and 866 MERS-CoV-related deaths were recorded as of March 5, 2016.1 The majority of reported cases originated from Saudi Arabia (2,121 cases). Also, MERS-CoV is believed to be of zoonotic origin and has been linked to camels in the Arabian area.1,2 In this report, the authors discuss the lessons learned from the MERS-CoV outbreak at King Abdul-Aziz Medical City-Riyadh (KAMC-R) from August through September 2015 from the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) perspective. The discussion includes the changes in policies and paramedic's practice, the training and education in infection control procedures, and the process of transportation of these cases. The authors hope to share their experience in this unique situation and highlight the preparedness and response efforts that took place by the division of EMS during the outbreak.

Can Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Shorten the Time to Stroke Team Activation, Computed Tomography (CT), and the Time to Receiving Antithrombotic Therapy? A Prospective Cohort Study.

INTRODUCTION: Stroke is a major emergency that can cause a significant morbidity and mortality. Advancement in stroke management in recent years has allowed more patients to be diagnosed and treated by stroke teams; however, stroke is a time-sensitive emergency that requires a high level of coordination, particularly within the prehospital phase. This research is to determine whether patients received by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) at a tertiary health care facility had shorter stroke team activation, time to computed tomography (CT), or time to receive intravenous thrombolytics. METHODS: This research is a prospective cohort study of adults with stroke symptoms who required stroke team activation at a tertiary medical facility. The study included all patients received from September 1, 2017 through August 31, 2018. The primary outcome was the time difference to stroke team activation between patients received by EMS compared to patients that arrived by a private method of transportation. The secondary outcomes were the difference in time to CT scan and the time to receive intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA). RESULTS: There were 75 (34.1%) patients who had been received by EMS, while 145 (65.9%) patients arrived via private transportation method (private car or by a friend/family member). The mean time to stroke team activation, time to CT, and time to receive thrombolytic therapy for the EMS group were: 8.19 (95% CI, 6.97 - 9.41) minutes; 18 (95% CI, 15.9 - 20.1) minutes; and 13.1 (95% CI, 6.95 - 19.3) minutes, respectively. Those for the private car group, on the other hand, were: 16 (95% CI, 12.4 - 19.6) minutes; 23.39 (95% CI, 19.6 - 27.2) minutes; and nine (95% CI, 4.54 -13.5) minutes, respectively. There was a significantly shorter time to stroke team activation for patients arriving via EMS compared to private car (P ≤ .00), but no significant difference was found on time to CT (P = .259) or time to receive rtPA (P = .100). CONCLUSION: Emergency Medical Service transportation of stroke patients can significantly shorten the time to stroke team activation, leading to shorter triage and accelerated patient management. However, there was no statistical difference in time to CT or time to receive rtPA. Patients with stroke symptoms may benefit more from EMS transportation compared to private methods of transportation.

A Systematic Review of the Prevalence and Types of Adverse Events in Interfacility Critical Care Transfers by Paramedics.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate if paramedics can safely transfer interfacility critically ill adult patients and to determine the prevalence and types of adverse events when paramedics lead interfacility critical care transfers. METHODS: MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase, and CINAHL databases were searched from 1990 up to February 2016. Eligibility criteria were adult patients (16 years and over), interfacility transfer (between two health care facilities), quantitative or qualitative description of adverse events, and a paramedic as the primary care provider or the sole health care provider. RESULTS: Seven publications had paramedics as the sole health care provider conducting interfacility critical care transfers. All seven studies were observational studies published in the English language. The study duration ranged from 14 months to 10 years. The frequency of adverse events seen by paramedics in interfacility transfers ranges from 5.1% to 18%. CONCLUSION: There is a gap in literature on the safety and adverse events in interfacility transfers by paramedics. The prevalence of in-transit adverse events is well established; however, because the published literature is lacking longitudinal monitoring of patients and only reporting in-transit events, we believe that further research in this area might provide the basis of paramedics safety in interfacility transfers.