Ambulance arrival to patient contact: The hidden component of prehospital response time intervals

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in high-rise buildings: delays to patient care and effect on survival

“…Few previous studies have attempted to measure this extended interval. 11,13,14,20 Campbell and colleagues 11 showed that prehospital response time was significantly longer when the time from arrival of 911-initiated first responders on scene to patient contact was included. Morrison and colleagues 14 observed a response delay of 1.5 minutes for all 911 emergency medical calls that occurred at or above the third floor in high-rise buildings in Toronto.…”

“…This interval can contribute substantial delays to patient treatment, in some cases more than 4 minutes, and can account for up to 28% of the total time from the 911 call to arrival of the first responders at the patient's side. [11][12][13][14] There is a lack of literature describing the delay to patient contact during out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in high-rise buildings, where timesensitive, life-saving interventions matter most. Furthermore, the effect on survival of vertical delay to patient contact is unknown.…”

Urbanization, Urbanicity, and Health

“…It has been shown that persons living in more densely populated cities have worse survival from acute cardiovascular events, perhaps due to the longer response times of emergency medical and fire services. 46,47 More recently, there has been intense interest in the effects on physical and mental health of the built environment and considerations of the design of public space. For example, it has been shown that physical availability of resources (e.g., healthy foods) is associated with a greater likelihood of urban residents eating balanced diets.…”

The “Vertical Response Time”: Barriers to Ambulance Response in an Urban Area

“…6 In Kansas City, Missouri, a city of 500,000, the median on-scene to patient time was 1.3 minutes; this time was 0.8 minutes when there were no identifiable barriers and 2.3 minutes when one or more barriers were identified. 7 The longer on-scene to patient intervals in our study may reflect the greater concentration of multistory buildings encountered in large metropolitan areas and the additional challenges in reaching patients in these buildings. This is supported by our relatively short onscene times when patients were located in public locations and smaller residences.…”

“…[2][3][4][5] Several other studies have reported on-scene to patient time intervals. [6][7][8][9] In a study of four EMS regions in Arizona, the on-scene to patient interval was 1.0 minute. 6 In Kansas City, Missouri, a city of 500,000, the median on-scene to patient time was 1.3 minutes; this time was 0.8 minutes when there were no identifiable barriers and 2.3 minutes when one or more barriers were identified.…”