Pre-hospital medical interventions delivered to COVID-19 patients by Emergency Medical Service: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background Many people in the community become infected with the coronavirus and seek help from the pre-hospital Emergency Medical Service (EMS) system. This study aimed to identify the pre-hospital medical intervention delivered to the COVID-19 patients by EMS personnel. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 335 EMS personnel were selected by random sampling method from the 49 pre-hospital emergency stations of east and west Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Data were collected using a questionnaire assessing the demographic characteristics and pre-hospital medical intervention delivered to COVID-19 patients. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 21. Results The results showed that 68.9% of the missions for COVID-19 patients were emergency situation, and for these patients invasive interventions; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) (60.9%), intubation (53.1%) and suction (38.8%) were performed. Administration of oxygen, intravenous (IV) line, patients transport to emergency department, serum therapy and recommendation for home care were the most common pre-hospital medical interventions. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between the pre-hospital medical intervention with personnel’s educational degree, field of study, and history of the COVID-19 disease (P < 0.001). Conclusions The results showed that EMS personnel, in addition to close contact with COVID-19 patients, perform various advanced interventions for them. Therefore, planning to train these personnel, developing standards, following protocols and adequate access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and diagnostic and therapeutic equipment can be useful in improving the quality of patient care, handling of the patients and personnel safety in recent and future pandemics.