Impact of prehospital pediatric asthma management protocol adherence on clinical outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the frequency of EMS protocol non-adherence during pediatric asthma encounters and its association with emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS) and hospital admission. METHODS: This is a retrospective review of asthma encounters aged 2-17 years transported by EMS to a pediatric ED from 2012 to 2017. Our primary outcome was hospital admission based on prehospital protocol adherence defined as: (1) bronchodilator administration, (2) treatment of hypoxia with oxygen, or (3) administration of intramuscular (IM) epinephrine in encounters with high severity of distress. Multivariable logistic regression estimated the association between protocol non-adherence and hospital admission. RESULTS: During the study period, 290 EMS encounters met inclusion criteria. Median age was 9 years (IQR 5-12), 63% were male, 40% had moderate to severe exacerbations, and 24% were admitted. Protocol non-adherence occurred in 32% of encounters with failure to administer bronchodilators in 27% and failure to administer IM epinephrine when indicated in 83%. Prehospital steroids were administered in 8% of encounters. After adjusting for covariates, protocol non-adherence was not statistically associated with likelihood of inpatient admission (OR 1.3; 95% CI: 0.6-2.6). CONCLUSIONS: Among prehospital pediatric asthma encounters, EMS protocol non-adherence is common but not associated with a higher frequency of hospital admission. Hospital admission was associated with acute exacerbation severity suggesting further research is needed to develop a valid prehospital asthma severity assessment scoring tool.Supplemental data for this article can be accessed at publisher's website.

Utilization of Intravenous Catheters by Prehospital Providers during Pediatric Transports.

INTRODUCTION: Prehospital intravenous (IV) access in children may be difficult and time-consuming. Emergency Medical Service (EMS) protocols often dictate IV placement; however, some IV catheters may not be needed. The scene and transport time associated with attempting IV access in children is unknown. The objective of this study is to examine differences in scene and transport times associated with prehospital IV catheter attempt and utilization patterns of these catheters during pediatric prehospital encounters. METHODS: Three non-blinded investigators abstracted EMS and hospital records of children 0-18 years of age transported by EMS to a pediatric emergency department (ED). We compared patients in which prehospital IV access was attempted to those with no documented attempt. Our primary outcome was scene time. Secondary outcomes include utilization of the IV catheter in the prehospital and ED settings and a determination of whether the catheter was indicated based on a priori established criteria (prehospital IV medication administration, hypotension, GCS < 13, and ICU admission). RESULTS: We reviewed 1,138 records, 545 meeting inclusion criteria. IV catheter placement was attempted in 27% (n = 149) with success in 77% (n = 111). There was no difference in the presence of hypotension or median GCS between groups. Mean scene time (12.5 vs. 11.8 minutes) and transport time (16.9 vs. 14.6 minutes) were similar. Prehospital IV medications were given in 38.7% (43/111). One patient received a prehospital IV medication with no alternative route of administration. Among patients with a prehospital IV attempt, 31% (46/149) received IV medications in the ED and 23% (34/396) received IV fluids in the ED. Mean time to use of the IV in the ED was 70 minutes after arrival. Patients with prehospital IV attempt were more likely to receive IV medication within 30 minutes of ED arrival (39.1% vs. 19.0%, p = 0.04). Overall, 34.2% of IV attempts were indicated. CONCLUSIONS: Prehospital IV catheter placement in children is not associated with an increase in scene or transport time. Prehospital IV catheters were used in approximately one-third of patients. Further study is needed to determine which children may benefit most from IV access in the prehospital setting.