Analysis of the Emergency Medical Service Call Centre Actions in Patients with Cardiac Arrest

Radojka Joksic-Mazinjanin; Aleksandar Djuricin; Milena Joksic Zelic; Predrag Saponja; Sinisa Saravolac; Zoran Gojkovic; Velibor Vasovic; Momir Mikov

doi:10.5937/scriptamed52-31429

Radojka Joksic-Mazinjanin University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine Novi Sad, Department of emergency medicine; Institute for Emergency Medical Service, Novi Sad; Novi Sad,
Aleksandar Djuricin University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine Novi Sad, Department of emergency medicine; Institute for Emergency Medical Service, Novi Sad; Novi Sad,
Milena Joksic Zelic Health Centre ''Bečej'', Emergency Medical Services, Bečej,
Predrag Saponja Institute for Emergency Medical Service Novi Sad, Novi Sad
Sinisa Saravolac Institute for Emergency Medical Service Novi Sad, Novi Sad
Zoran Gojkovic University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine Novi Sad, Department of surgery; Clinical Centre of Vojvodina, Orthopedic Clinic; Novi Sad
Velibor Vasovic University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine Novi Sad, Department of pharmacology, toxicology and clinical pharmacology, Novi Sad.
Momir Mikov University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine Novi Sad, Department of pharmacology, toxicology and clinical pharmacology, Novi Sad.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5937/scriptamed52-31429

Keywords: Emergency medical service, Dispatcher, Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Telephone CPR

Abstract

Background/Aim: Cardiac arrest (CA) is a leading cause of mortality in the last forty years worldwide. Immediately initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) improves chances for survival. Aim of this study was to determine the efficiency of the Emergency medical service (EMS) dispatch centre in the absence of the uniform emergency medical dispatch assessment protocols in the management of cardiac arrest.

Methods: The retrospective and observational study was conducted in Institute for Emergency Medical Service Novi Sad (IEMS Novi Sad) Serbia during a one-year follow-up. The study included patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrests who underwent CPR.

Results: EMS teams of the IEMS Novi Sad had 198 CPRs in the follow-up period. In 142 (71.72 %) calls, the EMS dispatcher got information that the patient was uncon- scious. The reported reaction time I by the dispatchers for the unconscious patients was 1.37 ± 1.27 minutes, actual duration of the conversation between the dispatcher and a caller – was longer: 138.21 ± 103.02 seconds (p < 0.001). The average conversation time with a caller was 61.37 ± 31.13 seconds. In 6 (4.22 %) cases, the EMS team was dispatched to a patient before the phone call was terminated. At the moment of arrival, all patients were unconscious, 194 (94.37 %) were pulseless, while the remaining 8 (5.63 %) experienced cardiac arrest during the examination. The cardiac arrest was witnessed by a layman in 120 (84.51 %) cases and CPR was initiated by bystanders, before the arrival of the EMS team, only in 13 (10.83 %) patients. Twen- ty-seven (19.01 %) patients arrived in a hospital with vital signs.

Conclusion: The absence of the uniform EMS dispatch assessment protocols for the triage of incoming calls and phone assisted CPR for lay rescuers decreases the survival rate of patients with cardiac arrest.

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