Patients who use emergency medical services have greater severity of illness or injury compared to those who present to the emergency department via other means: A retrospective cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

We aimed to evaluate the differences in characteristics and illness/injury severity among patients who present to the emergency department (ED) via emergency medical services (EMS) compared to patients who present via other means.

Methods

We analyzed a nationwide sample of ED visits from the 2015-2019 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. We excluded patients <18 or >92 years old, who eloped or left against medical advice, or who arrived via interfacility transport. Mode of presentation was dichotomized to those presenting to the ED via EMS versus any other mode of transportation. Using the appropriate survey sampling weights, we described patient characteristics and compared measures of illness/injury severity between groups using a multivariable logis

SUBMITTER: Peters GA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10388837 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature