Is advanced life support better than basic life support in prehospital care? A systematic review

Is advanced life support better than basic life support in prehospital care? A systematic review

BACKGROUND Prehospital care is classified into ALS- (advanced life support) and BLS- (basic life support) levels according to the methods used. ALS-level prehospital care uses invasive methods, such as intravenous fluids, medications and intubation. However, the effectiveness of ALS care compared to BLS has been questionable. AIM The aim of this systematic review is to compare the effectivene...

Is Prehospital Advanced Life Support Harmful?

E year in the United States, approximately 21 million persons call 911, are evaluated by emergency medical services (EMS), and are transported to emergency departments (EDs) for potential medical emergencies (1). Of these, approximately 35% are related to injuries or chest, respiratory, or neurologic symptoms and more than one third of all patients aged 65 years or older are transported to the ...

Advanced life support versus basic life support in the pre-hospital setting: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND The scientific evidence of a beneficial effect of ALS in pre-hospital treatment in trauma patients or patients with any acute illness is scarce. The objective of this systematic review of controlled studies was to examine whether ALS, as opposed to BLS, increases patient survival in pre-hospital treatment and if so, to identify the patient groups that gain benefit. METHODS A system...

Factors impacting on quality of prehospital advanced cardiac life support

Basic life support.

The term basic life support (BLS) refers to maintaining an airway and supporting breathing and the circulation. It comprises the following elements: initial assessment, airway maintenance, expired air ventilation (rescue breathing; mouth-to-mouth ventilation) and chest compression. When all are combined the term cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is used. BLS implies that no equipment is used;...