BackgroundIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a national lockdown was introduced on 23 March 2020. In the following weeks, emergency departments in the UK reported a reduction in attendances. We aimed to explore the incidence of emergency calls across North East England, as well as the number of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) deaths.MethodsData were collected for all patients who contacted North East Ambulance Service between 4 March 2019–2 June 2019 and 2 March 2020–31 May 2020 suffering stroke, ST elevation myocardial infarction, allergy, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, falls, intoxication, seizure, sepsis, acute coronary syndrome and OHCA.ResultsThere were a reduction in incidence of calls, excluding OHCA, resulting in ambulance activation during the pandemic compared with same period in 2019, 16 743 versus 19 639, respectively (−14.74%). The decline in calls was partially reversed by the end of May 2020. Incidence of OHCA at the time of the national lockdown had increased by 13.79% with a peak increase of 73.56% in the second week in April 2020. OHCA deaths peaked in the first 2 weeks in April 2020, 95.65% and 90.07%, respectively, but by the end May 2020, incidence of OHCA and OHCA deaths had returned to prelockdown levels.ConclusionIncidence of emergency calls were reduced during the pandemic compared with 2019. There was a rise in incidence of OHCA and OHCA deaths during the same period; however, these changes appear transient. Further research is required to understand patient behaviour towards seeking help during the pandemic and the long-term consequences of not doing so.
Objectives: To determine the effectiveness of intravenous versus oral paracetamol (acetaminophen) in the management of acute pain in the out-of-hospital setting.Methods: We extracted ambulance electronic patient care records for all patients who received 1 g intravenous paracetamol throughout January 2019, and case matched these by sex and age with consecutive patients who received 1 g oral paracetamol over the same time period. Eligible for inclusion were all patients aged ≥ 18 who received 1 g paracetamol for acute pain and who were transported to the emergency department (ED). The primary outcome was the mean reduction in pain score using the numeric rating scale (NRS), with a reduction of 2 or more accepted as clinically significant.Results: 80 care records were eligible for analysis; 40 patients received intravenous and 40 patients received oral paracetamol. The mean age of both groups was 54 years (± 3 years) and 67.5% (n = 54) were female. Patients receiving intravenous paracetamol had a clinically significant mean (SD) improved pain score compared to those receiving oral paracetamol, 2.02 (1.64) versus 0.75 (1.76), respectively [p = 0.0013]. 13/40 (32.5%) patients who received intravenous paracetamol saw an improved pain score of ≥ 2 compared to 8/40 (20%) who received oral paracetamol. No patients received additional analgesia or reported any adverse symptoms. Abdominal pain, infection and trauma were the most common causes of pain in both groups.Conclusion: Our study suggests that intravenous paracetamol is more effective than oral paracetamol when managing acute pain in the out-of-hospital setting. Our findings support further investigation of the role of paracetamol in paramedic practice using more robust methods.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.