OBJECTIVE. Airway management and endotracheal intubation may be required urgently when a patient deteriorates in an ambulance or aircraft during interhospital transfer or in a prehospital setting. The objectives of this study were: (1) to compare the effectiveness of conventional intubation by Macintosh laryngoscope in a moving ambulance versus that in a static ambulance; and (2) to compare the...

BACKGROUND This paper discusses recent developments in research support for ambulance trusts in England and Wales and how this could be designed to lead to better implementation, collaboration in and initiation of high-quality research to support a truly evidence-based service. METHOD The National Ambulance Research Steering Group was set up in 2007 to establish the strategic direction for in...

The link between high temperatures and ambulance transports in Takamatsu area, Japan was investigated. Monthly observations for ambulance transports (2004-2008) were obtained from Fire Department Service in Takamatsu. Data of temperatures in Takamatsu area, Japan (2004-2008) were used by Japan Meteorological Agency. Effect of high temperatures on ambulance transports was analyzed. By using data...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Taking appropriate action in the prehospital setting is important for rapid stroke diagnosis in adults. Data are lacking for children. We aimed to describe parental care-seeking behavior and prehospital timelines of care in childhood arterial ischemic stroke. METHODS A structured questionnaire was developed, using value-focused event-driven conceptual modeling technique...

BACKGROUND Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a frequent and acute medical condition that requires immediate care. We estimate survival rates from OHCA in the area of Stockholm, through developing an analytical tool for evaluating Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system design changes. The study also is an attempt to validate the proposed model used to generate the outcome measures for th...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES To describe the epidemiological characteristics of cardiac arrests attended in basic life support units in the Basque Country (Spain) and look for factors associated with failure of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. METHODS We conducted an observational study during 18 months, including all out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation provided by basic life support u...

BACKGROUND Helicopter emergency medical services are an important part of many healthcare systems. Norway has a nationwide physician staffed air ambulance service with 12 bases servicing a country with large geographical variations in population density. The aim of the study was to estimate optimal air ambulance base locations. METHODS We used high resolution population data for Norway from 2...

All patients brought to hospital by a special cardiac ambulance were followed up and compared with patients carried by routine ambulances to assess the effectiveness of a cardiac ambulance service. The overall mortality of patients with heart attacks was 51% among those carried by an ordinary ambulance and 40% among those carried by the cardiac ambulance. The apparently low mortality in the lat...

This paper is concerned with extending models for the Maximal Covering Location Problem in two ways. First, the usual 0-1 coverage definition is replaced by the probability of covering a demand within the target time. Second, once the locations are determined, the minimum number of vehicles at each location that satisfies the required performance levels is determined. Thus, the problem of ident...