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Hospital-Confirmed Acute Myocardial Infarction: Prehospital Identification Using the Medical Priority Dispatch System

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 December 2017

Jeff J. Clawson ,
Isabel Gardett ,
Greg Scott ,
Conrad Fivaz ,
Tracey Barron ,
Meghan Broadbent  and
Christopher Olola
Jeff J. Clawson
Affiliation:
International Academies of Emergency Dispatch, Salt Lake City, UtahUSA
Isabel Gardett*
Affiliation:
International Academies of Emergency Dispatch, Salt Lake City, UtahUSA
Greg Scott
Affiliation:
International Academies of Emergency Dispatch, Salt Lake City, UtahUSA
Conrad Fivaz
Affiliation:
International Academies of Emergency Dispatch, Salt Lake City, UtahUSA
Tracey Barron
Affiliation:
International Academies of Emergency Dispatch, Bristol, United Kingdom
Meghan Broadbent
Affiliation:
International Academies of Emergency Dispatch, Salt Lake City, UtahUSA
Christopher Olola
Affiliation:
International Academies of Emergency Dispatch, Salt Lake City, UtahUSA
*
Correspondence: Isabel Gardett, PhD International Academies of Emergency Dispatch 110 S. Regent Street, 8th Floor Salt Lake City, Utah 84111 USA E-mail: Isabel.gardett@emergencydispatch.org
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Abstract

Introduction

Early recognition of an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) can increase the patient’s likelihood of survival. As the first point of contact for patients accessing medical care through emergency services, emergency medical dispatchers (EMDs) represent the earliest potential identification point for AMIs. The objective of the study was to determine how AMI cases were coded and prioritized at the dispatch point, and also to describe the distribution of these cases by patient age and gender.

Hypothesis/Problem

No studies currently exist that describe the EMD’s ability to correctly triage AMIs into Advanced Life Support (ALS) response tiers.

Methods

The retrospective descriptive study utilized data from three sources: emergency medical dispatch, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and emergency departments (EDs)/hospitals. The primary outcome measure was the distributions of AMI cases, as categorized by Chief Complaint Protocol, dispatch priority code and level, and patient age and gender. The EMS and ED/hospital data came from the Utah Department of Health (UDoH), Salt Lake City, Utah. Dispatch data came from two emergency communication centers covering the entirety of Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County, Utah.

Results

Overall, 89.9% of all the AMIs (n=606) were coded in one of the three highest dispatch priority levels, all of which call for ALS response (called CHARLIE, DELTA, and ECHO in the studied system). The percentage of AMIs significantly increased for patients aged 35 years and older, and varied significantly by gender, dispatch level, and chief complaint. A total of 85.7% of all deaths occurred among patients aged 55 years and older, and 88.9% of the deaths were handled in the ALS-recommended priority levels.

Conclusion

Acute myocardial infarctions may present as a variety of clinical symptoms, and the study findings demonstrated that more than one-half were identified as having chief complaints of Chest Pain or Breathing Problems at the dispatch point, followed by Sick Person and Unconscious/Fainting. The 35-year age cutoff for assignment to higher priority levels is strongly supported. The Falls and Sick Person Protocols offer opportunities to capture atypical AMI presentations.

ClawsonJJ, GardettI, ScottG, FivazC, BarronT, BroadbentM, OlolaC. Hospital-Confirmed Acute Myocardial Infarction: Prehospital Identification Using the Medical Priority Dispatch System. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(1):29–35.

Keywords

acute myocardial infarctionemergency medical dispatchEmergency Medical Servicesheart attackmedical priority dispatch
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 33 , Issue 1 , February 2018 , pp. 29 - 35
Copyright
© World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2017 

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Footnotes

Conflicts of interest: Jeff J. Clawson is the inventor of the Medical Priority Dispatch Protocol System (MPDS) studied herein. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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