Shedding light into the black box of out-of-hospital respiratory distress-A retrospective cohort analysis of discharge diagnoses, prehospital diagnostic accuracy, and predictors of mortality.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although respiratory distress is one of the most common complaints of patients requiring emergency medical services (EMS), there is a lack of evidence on important aspects.

Objectives

Our study aims to determine the accuracy of EMS physician diagnostics in the out-of-hospital setting, identify examination findings that correlate with diagnoses, investigate hospital mortality, and identify mortality-associated predictors.

Methods

This retrospective observational study examined EMS encounters between December 2015 and May 2016 in the city of Aachen, Germany, in which an EMS physician was present at the scene. Adult patients were included if the EMS physician initially detected dyspnea, low oxygen saturation, or pathological auscultation findings at the scene

SUBMITTER: Sporl P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9348717 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature