emergency medicine

COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented citation for the healthcare system; such that its effects are now started to become obvious. The main aim of this report is to describe the time trends of utilization of prehospital emergency medical system in a region of northern Greece from first confirmed case of the COVID-19 in the country, at 26/02/2020, till the first order for loosing lockdown at 04/05/2020. Use of data retrospectively collected for PEMS usage, in the regional unit of Thessaloniki, Northern Greece 26/02/2020, till the first order for loosing lockdown at 04/05/2020. The area of interest represents a little more than 10% of the total population of Greece. Daily cases of selected categories (suicides, assaults, animal bites, cardiac arrests, and car accidents) were recorded. Comparison with the daily cases in the previous 2 years (2019,2018), for the same period was performed. Continue reading

This is the first study in Greece that aims prehospital care by Emergency Medical Services staff and the factors that affecting it. In a prospective 5 month survey study , 13 EMTs recorded data (45 variables) about 1450 cases;1010 of which were included for further analysis. Six (6%) of the cases were characterized as super-emergencies, 46% non-emergent and 35% as emergent. Fourty five (45%) of the cases were recorded in the 15.00-23.00 shift. Geographical distribution of the calls is very different from the pre-located ambulance bases and varies with the type (non-urgent/ urgent) of the call. In 152 the characterization of the call was changed after arrival on the spot.

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The health system’s response characteristics to any refugee crises have special characteristics. Optimal and flexible use of health services is essential in order to meet the needs that arise. Greece has been at the center of such crisis in the last 3 years. The purpose of this study is to record the emergency refugees' transports carried out by the National Center of Emergency Care (“ EKAB”) of Thessaloniki during a 6 months period. In a retrospective study, selected data for the use of emergency care service by the refugees’ camps around Thessaloniki were recorded and analyzed. Parameters included the date, time and location of the incident, patient demographics, callers’ status and incident type. Data on refugee flow in Greece was also included for the same period. Data from 1916 records were analyzed, the majority of which were ages up to 45 years (> 70%). Time distribution of the data displayed increased transport during the first 3 months of the study, followed by a steady decrease. Most of the transports were carried out during the last 3 days of the week. In comparison with the general population, high incident of pediatric cases were recorded. Trauma cases were also high, (35%) - with equally high rates of crime-related injuries. Finally, many ambulance transports were carried out due to delivery or early pregnancy-related problems. Young people and children are the most frequently users of ambulances’ transport from refugee hosting camps. However, due to the complexity of the problem and the dynamic nature of the camps’ population composition, more studies are needed in order to properly evaluate the use of each sector of the health system by refugees.

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Prehospital emergency medical services (PEMS) are becoming more and more sophisticated as more point-of–care advanced medical technology is available in the field. Yet, the literature around the subject is limited, as data come mainly from Northern Europe, USA, Canada and New Zealand. The aim of this analysiswas to describe time trends of PEMS activity in a region of northern Greece.Use of data retrospectively collected for PEMS usage, in the regional unit of Thessaloniki, Northern Greece from 2006 to 2015. The area of interest represents a little more than 10% of the total population of Greece.Total utilization of PEMS shows an overall l4.03% decrease over the decade; yet with an increase in the 2 last years.The mean rate of use was 69/1000 inhabitants for ambulance services and 1.5/1000 for medical interventions (MICU).

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