ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Geriatric patients account for a large proportion of interventions of medical emergency teams (METs). The aim of this study was to analyse medical emergency interventions in the Biala Podlaska and Chelm (Poland) between 2016 and 2018 in a group of patients ≥ 65 years of age. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analysed medical records of 1200 older patients treated by METs in Biala Podlaska and Chelm (Lublin Province, Poland). The research was conducted from June 2019 to March 2020 at the Emergency Medical Service Station in Biala Podlaska and the Medical Rescue Station in Chelm (Independent Public Complex of Health Care Facilities). RESULTS: A total of 92.5% of medical emergency service interventions took place at the patient's home. The mean time of stay at the scene was 20 min. The highest number of interventions occurred between 8:00 p.m. and 8:59 p.m. There were no statistically significant differences in the type of ambulance used depending on the patient's sex, while there was a statistically significant relationship between priority code and sex. Cardiovascular diseases were diagnosed in 40% of patients, and the symptoms were not precisely classified in almost the same percentage of patients. Mortality cases accounted for 3.1% of the 1200 interventions analysed. Ambulance dispatch resulted in the patient being transported to the hospital emergency department in 69.1% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: METs were called for a variety of diseases due to the fact that geriatric patients are not able to distinguish a life-threatening condition. Medical procedures performed by METs from Biala Podlaska and Chelm were closely related to the initial diagnoses made by these teams. It was irrelevant whether a specialist or non-specialist medical emergency service was used. Paramedics are very well trained to practice their profession and are able to provide treatment to older patients in a state of sudden life threat.
Subject(s)
Emergency Medical Services , Emergency Service, Hospital , Aged , Ambulances , Cities , Humans , Poland , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to analyse medical management in geriatric patients in the Hospital Emergency Departments in the Biala Podlaska County and Chelm County (Poland) between 2016 and 2018 in a group of patients ≥65 years of age. We analysed medical records of 829 patients transported to Hospital Emergency Departments by Medical Emergency Teams. The research was conducted in the period from June 2019 to March 2020. We analysed emergency medical procedure forms and medical records of patients transported to the hospitals. Cardiovascular diseases were diagnosed in 40% of patients. Mortality cases accounted for 3.1% of the 1200 interventions analysed. Ambulance dispatch resulted in the patient being transported to the Hospital Emergency Departments in more than 2/3 of cases. The concordance between the diagnoses made by the Medical Emergency Teams and those made at the Hospital Emergency Departments was confirmed for 78% patients admitted to the department (n = 647), whereas the concordance of classification at the group level was estimated at 71.7% (n = 594). Further in-patient treatment was initiated in some of the patients admitted to the department (n = 385). The mean time of hospital stay was 10.1 days. In conclusion, differences between the initial diagnosis made by the heads of the Medical Emergency Teams and the diagnosis made by the doctor on duty in the Hospital Emergency Departments depended on the chapter of diseases in the ICD-10 classification, but they were acceptable. The majority of the patients were transported to Hospital Emergency Departments. The most common groups of diseases that require Hospital Emergency Departments admission include cardiovascular diseases, injuries due to external causes, and respiratory diseases. A moderate percentage of patients were qualified for further specialist treatment in hospital departments.
