PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS
For every six patients in pulmonary edema who receive prehospital CPAP and nitroglycerine, the need for one intubation is
prevented.1
mark paper, one death, a second heart
attack or a stroke is prevented for every 15
STEMI patients who receive 12-lead ECG,
aspirin, direct transport to a PCI center and
activation of the PCI center before arrival.1
In a study of more than 40,000
STEMI patients, mortality increased with
Patients with moderate to severe asthma attacks who received IV steroids from EMS were less likely to be admitted to the hospital in one
study, even with relatively short transport times.14
every 30-minute delay from reaching the
hospital to receiving balloon angioplasty.
This was true even if it was done within
the current 90-minute goal.10 Prehospital
ECGs and early hospital notifcation have
been shown to reduce time to reperfusion in the hospital.11 Serial ECGs are also
important. A study from Toronto showed
only 85% of STEMIs were detected with
the frst ECG, and 15% were detected after
the patient was moved to the ambulance
or during transport.12 Perform ECGs early
and often on any patient with suspected
acute coronary syndrome (ACS).
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JUNE 2013 | EMSWORLD.com