Difficulty Breathing: Agreement of Paramedic andEmergency Physician Diagnoses

Abstract

Paramedics are able to identify the disease process category in patients dispatched as having "difficulty breathing," with a moderate degree of accuracy.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of pre-hospital diagnostic accuracy studies

“…The main eligibility criterion for patients was emergency ambulance transport to a defined hospital but additional criteria varied depending on the study population and type of diagnosis (eg, chest pain,31 33 suspected sepsis25 or dispatch code difficulty in breathing) 30. Studies reporting demographic details described a male prevalence between 41.1%35 and 71%28 and a mean age between 47.634 and 69.825 years.…”

Paramedic Differentiation of Asthma and COPD in the Prehospital Setting Is Difficult

“…Studies of the accuracy of coding respiratory conditions by paramedics have been limited [6][7][8][9]21 and the findings inconsistent, with no consensus on a 'gold standard' for comparisons.…”

“…The study 7 also only included patients from one hospital with its own ambulance service. Pozner et al 21 conducted a retrospective review of prehospital records in patients with dyspnea and compared the prehospital cause of dyspnea (cardiac; non-cardiac or both) to that indicated by the ED diagnosis on the 9 medical record.…”

“…However, with little or no diagnostic tools or verifiable past medical history, differentiating these conditions is likely to be difficult. [6][7][8][9] The aims of our study were to;…”

Low–Fractional Oxygen Concentration Continuous Positive Airway Pressure is Effective in the Prehospital Setting

“…Paramedics made a presumptive diagnosis on scene and determined whether the patient met the inclusion criteria. 17 The enrollment criteria and process are detailed in Figure 1.…”