Death risk classifying in patients with internal medical emergencies in pre-hospital settings

authors:

avatar Seyed MohammadTaghi Shahcheragh , avatar Abbasali Ebrahimian ORCID , * , avatar Ali Fakhr-Movahedi ORCID


how to cite: Shahcheragh S M, Ebrahimian A, Fakhr-Movahedi A. Death risk classifying in patients with internal medical emergencies in pre-hospital settings. koomesh. 2021;23(4):e153274. 

Abstract

Introduction: In a pre-hospital emergency, identifying high-risk medical patients and appropriate decision making is very important. The classifying of life-threatening risks in pre-hospital settings can improve the decision-making process. This study was purposed to classify the risk level of death in patients in pre-hospital emergency settings. Materials and Methods: This study was a descriptive longitudinal study design that performed on the patients requesting the pre-hospital emergency services. This study was a descriptive longitudinal descriptive study that lasted from May 1 to the end of August 2017. 675 patients participated in this study. A demographic questionnaire and pre-hospital internal emergency alert scale were used for data collection. Then the patients;#39 condition was followed up until discharge from the emergency department. Results: The mean score of the Pre-Hospital Internal Emergency Warning Scale was 11.95 ± 6.21. The odds ratio for each Prehospital Medical Early Warning Scale (Pre-MEWS) score was 1.193, which indicated for each unit increase in Pre-MEWS scores, the risk of death of patients increased by 19.3%. Then, the patients classified into three levels of green, yellow, and red based on Pre-MEWS scores. The Area Under the Rock curve for Pre-MEWS scores to identify death and the need for hospitalization in intensive care units was equal to 0.847 (CI=0.793-0.901), and0.755 (CI= 0.711-0.799) respectively). Conclusion: The Pre-MEWS scale can use for classifying and triage of patients in pre-hospital emergencies, especially in times of disaster. According to the Pre-MEWS scale, patients who are in the third level or green color can transfer to the hospital with more delay, and this can improve the quality of pre-hospital emergency services in times of disaster.

References

  • 1.

    Knapp BJ, Kerns BL, Riley I, Powers J. EMS-Initiated refusal of transport: the current state of affairs. J Emerg Med 2009; 36: 157-161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2007.06.028 PMid:18024070.

  • 2.

    Kirsty Ch, Walter D. Physiological scoring: an aid to emergency medical services transport decisions? Prehosp Disaster Med 2009; 2: 320-324. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049023X00008268 PMid:20845317.

  • 3.

    Lee LL, Yeung KL, Lo WY, Lau YS, Tang SY, Chan JT. Evaluation of a simplified therapeutic intervention scoring system (TISS-28) and the modified early warning score (MEWS) in predicting physiological deterioration during inter-facility transport. Resuscitation 2007; 76: 47-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2007.07.005 PMid:17728045.

  • 4.

    Kirsty Ch, Walter D. Physiological scoring: an aid to emergency medical services transport decisions? Prehosp Disaster Med 2010; 25: 320-323. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049023X00008268 PMid:20845317.

  • 5.

    Ebrahimian AA, Khalesi N, Mohammadi G, Tourdeh M, Naghipour M. Transportation management in pre-hospital emergency whit physiological early warning scores. J Health Adm 2012; 15: 7-13. (Persian).

  • 6.

    James NF, Charlotte LP, Natalie ES, Samantha JB, Gavin DP. Is the modified early warning score (MEWS) superior to clinician judgement in detecting critical illness in the pre-hospital environment? Resuscitation 2012; 83: 557-562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2012.01.004 PMid:22248688.

  • 7.

    Mulholland SA, Gabbe BJ, Cameron P. Is paramedic judgement useful in prehospital trauma triage? Injury Int J Care Injured 2005; 36: 1298-1305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.injury.2005.07.010 PMid:16214474.

  • 8.

    Brown LH, Hubble MW, Cone DC, Millin MG, Schwartz B, Patterson PD, et al. Paramedic determinations of medical necessity: A meta analysis. Prehosp Emerg Care 2009; 13: 516-527. https://doi.org/10.1080/10903120903144809 PMid:19731166.

  • 9.

    Ebrahimian A, Seyedin H, Jamshidi-Orak R, Masoumi G. Exploring factors affecting emergency medical services staffs decision about transporting medical patients to medical facilities. Emerg Med Int 2014; 2014: 8. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/215329 PMid:24891953 PMCid:PMC4033513.

  • 10.

    Lee SB, Kim DH, Kim T, Kang C, Lee SH, Jeong JH, et al. Emergency department triage early warning score (TREWS) predicts in-hospital mortality in the emergency department. Am J Emerg Med 2020; 38: 203-210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2019.02.004 PMid:30795946.

  • 11.

    Ahn JH, Jung YK, Lee JR, Oh YN, Oh DK, Huh JW, et al. Predictive powers of the modified early warning score and the national early warning score in general ward patients who activated the medical emergency team. PLoS ONE 2020; 15: e0233078. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233078 PMid:32407344 PMCid:PMC7224474.

  • 12.

    Kramer AA, Sebat F, Lissauer M. A review of early warning systems for prompt detection of patients at risk for clinical decline. J Trauma Acute Care Surg 2019; 87: S67-S73. https://doi.org/10.1097/TA.0000000000002197 PMid:31246909.

  • 13.

    Jiang X, Jiang P, Mao Y. Performance of modified early warning score (MEWS) and circulation, respiration, abdomen, motor, and speech (CRAMS) score in trauma severity and in-hospital mortality prediction in multiple trauma patients: a comparison study. PeerJ 2019; 7: e7227 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7227 PMid:31275766 PMCid:PMC6598668.

  • 14.

    Kelen GD, McCarthy ML, Kraus CK, Ding R, Hsu EB, Li G, et al. Creation of surge capacity by early discharge of hospitalized patients at low risk for untoward events. Disaster Med Public Health Prep 2009; 3: S10-S16. https://doi.org/10.1097/DMP.0b013e3181a5e7cd PMid:19349868.

  • 15.

    Merz TM, Etter R, Mende L. Barthelmes D, Wiegand J, Martinolli L, Takala J. Risk assessment in the first fifteen minutes: a prospective cohort study of a simple physiological scoring system in the emergency department. Crit Care 2011; 15: 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/cc9972 PMid:21244659 PMCid:PMC3222061.

  • 16.

    Subbe CP, Kruger M, Rutherford P, Gemmel L. Validation of a modified early warning score in medical admissions. QJM 2001; 94: 521-526. https://doi.org/10.1093/qjmed/94.10.521 PMid:11588210.

  • 17.

    Geoffrey R, David L. Biostatistics. London: hamilton 2002.

  • 18.

    Ebrahimian A, Seyedin H, Jamshidi-Orak R, Masoumi G. Physiological-Social Scores in Predicting Outcomes of Prehospital Internal Patients. Emerg Med Int 2014; 2014: 312189. (Persian). https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/312189 PMid:25298893 PMCid:PMC4178906.

  • 19.

    Shaw J, Fothergill RT, Clark S, Moore F. Can the prehospital national early warning score identify patients most at risk from subsequent deterioration? Emerg Med J 2017; 34: 533-537. https://doi.org/10.1136/emermed-2016-206115 PMid:28501815.

  • 20.

    Macdonald SP, Arendts G, Fatovich DM, Brown SG. Comparison of PIRO, SOFA, and MEDS scores for predicting mortality in emergency department patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. Acad Emerg Med 2014; 21: 1257-1263. https://doi.org/10.1111/acem.12515 PMid:25377403.

  • 21.

    Williams TA, Tohira H, Finn J, Perkins GD, Ho KM. The ability of early warning scores (EWS) to detect critical illness in the prehospital setting: A systematic review. Resuscitation 2016; 102: 35-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2016.02.011 PMid:26905389.

  • 22.

    Patel R, Nugawela MD, Edwards HB, Richards A, Le Roux H, Pullyblank A, Whiting P. Can early warning scores identify deteriorating patients in pre-hospital settings? A systematic review. Resuscitation 2018; 132: 101-111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2018.08.028 PMid:30171976.

  • 23.

    Pirneskoski J, Kuisma M, Olkkola KT, Nurmi J. Prehospital national early warning score predicts early mortality. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand 2019; 63: 676-683. https://doi.org/10.1111/aas.13310 PMid:30623422.

  • 24.

    van Dongen DN, Tolsma RT, Fokkert MJ, Badings EA, van der Sluis A, Slingerland RJ, et al. Pre-hospital risk assessment in suspected non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome: A prospective observational study. Eur Heart J Acute Cardiovasc Care 2020; 9: 5-12. https://doi.org/10.1177/2048872618813846 PMid:30468395.

  • 25.

    Christian MD, Hawryluck L, Wax RS, Cook T, Lazar NM, Herridge MS, et al. Development of a triage protocol for critical care during an influenza pandemic.Can Med Assoc J 2006; 175: 1377-1381. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.060911 PMid:17116904 PMCid:PMC1635763.

  • 26.

    Silcock DJ, Corfield AR, Gowens PA, Rooney KD. Validation of the National Early Warning Score in the prehospital setting. Resuscitation 2015; 89: 31-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2014.12.029 PMid:25583148.