ABSTRACT
Objective: The goal of this study is to evaluate the association between the conditions of the victims at the time of the 119 calls and the patient’s prognoses.
Methods: 1,511 cases from the emergency medical service records were retrospectively investigated using the Utstein Style from July 1, 2010 to September 30, 2012. The presence of consciousness, a pulse, and respiration were evaluated to confirm the condition of the victims. The consciousness cases at the time of 119 calls were further classified into groups based upon their chief complaints. To evaluate the association between the condition of the victims and his or her prognosis, each condition was compared with unconscious cases without respiration.
Results: The 1-month survival rate was significantly higher in conscious cases with chest / back pain or dyspnea, conscious and faint cases, unconscious cases with respiration, unconscious cases with breathing unknown, and unconscious cases with seizure at the time of the 119 emergency call (p<0.001, p=0.004, p<0.001, p=0.042, and p=0.001, respectively). In multivariate analysis, conscious cases with chest / back pain or dyspnea (OR=9.298, 95%CI=4.373-19.768), unconscious cases with respiration (OR=3.884, 95%CI=2.166-6.964), and unconscious cases with breathing unknown (OR=1.915, 95%CI=1.129-3.247) were significant prognostic factors.
Conclusion: The subsequent survival rate is particularly high in cases with chest / back pain or dyspnea, and cases in which the bystander could not confirm respiratory arrest. It is pivotal to provide appropriate instructions on resuscitation, without overlooking important signs that have an impact on survival in these cases.
Manuscripts that are Published Ahead of Print have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication by the Editorial Board of the West Indian Medical Journal. They may appear in their original format and may not be copy edited or formatted in the style guide of this Journal. While accepted manuscripts are not yet assigned a volume, issue or page numbers, they can be cited using the DOI and date of e-publication. See our Instructions for Authors on how to properly cite manuscripts at this stage. The contents of the manuscript may change before it is published in its final form. Manuscripts in this section will be removed once they have been issued to a volume and issue, but will still retain the DOI and date of e-publication.
Our 7 faculties and 12 professional schools offer more than 200 programmes to some 18,000 graduate, undergraduate and continuing studies students.
The UWI, Mona ranks first in Jamaica among accredited tertiary-level programmes. In 2012, the University was again one of Jamaica’s Top 100 Employers.
