SynthesisScandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine2010
Is advanced life support better than basic life support in prehospital care? A systematic review.
Synthesis in Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 104 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prehospital Emergency Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review.Prehospital and disaster medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Advanced training in trauma life support for ambulance crews.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2014Pooled it
- Initial Care Pathway in Acute Heart Failure From Home to Hospital.Clinical cardiology · 2025Review
- Emergency medical services level of training is associated with mortality in trauma patients: A combined prehospital and in hospital database analysis.The journal of trauma and acute care surgery · 2025Article
- Basic Life Support (BLS) Knowledge Among the Ha'il Region Population, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.Cureus · 2024Article
- Effectiveness of road safety interventions: An evidence and gap map.Campbell systematic reviews · 2024Article
- Interactive effect of multi-tier response and advanced airway management on clinical outcomes after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a nationwide population-based observational study.Clinical and experimental emergency medicine · 2022Article
- Concept review of regionalized systems of acute care: Is regionalization the next frontier in sepsis care?Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2022Article
- The impact of trauma systems on patient outcomes.Current problems in surgery · 2021Article
- Outcomes with advanced versus basic life support in blunt trauma.American journal of surgery · 2020Article
- Evolution of emergency medical services in the Kingdom of Bahrain.International journal of emergency medicine · 2020Article
- Mistriaged Advanced Life Support Patients in a Two-Tiered, Suburban Emergency Medical Services System.The western journal of emergency medicine · 2020Article
- A multidisciplinary approach for improving the outcome of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in South Korea.European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine · 2020Article
- Traffic police officers' experience of post-crash care to road traffic injury victims: a qualitative study in Tanzania".BMC emergency medicine · 2019Article
- Collecting core data in physician-staffed pre-hospital helicopter emergency medical services using a consensus-based template: international multicentre feasibility study in Finland and Norway.BMC health services research · 2019Observational
- Helicopter versus ground ambulance: review of national database for outcomes in survival in transferred trauma patients in the USA.Trauma surgery & acute care open · 2019Article
- Prehospital infection control and prevention in Denmark: a cross-sectional study on guideline adherence and microbial contamination of surfaces.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2018Article
- Patient-tailored triage decisions by anaesthesiologist-staffed prehospital critical care teams: a retrospective descriptive study.BMJ open · 2018Article
- Article
- [Prehospital assessment of injury type and severity in severely injured patients by emergency physicians : An analysis of the TraumaRegister DGU®].Der Unfallchirurg · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrehospital care is classified into ALS- (advanced life support) and BLS- (basic life support) levels according to the methods used. ALS-level prehospital care uses invasive methods, such as intravenous fluids, medications and intubation. However, the effectiveness of ALS care compared to BLS has been questionable.
aimThe aim of this systematic review is to compare the effectiveness of ALS- and BLS-level prehospital care. MATERIAL AND
methodsIn a systematic review, articles where ALS-level prehospital care was compared to BLS-level or any other treatment were included. The outcome variables were mortality or patient's health-related quality of life or patient's capacity to perform daily activities.
resultsWe identified 46 articles, mostly retrospective observational studies. The results on the effectiveness of ALS in unselected patient cohorts are contradictory. In cardiac arrest, early cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation are essential for survival, but prehospital ALS interventions have not improved survival. Prehospital thrombolytic treatment reduces mortality in patients having a myocardial infarction. The majority of research into trauma favours BLS in the case of penetrating trauma and also in cases of short distance to a hospital. In patients with severe head injuries, ALS provided by paramedics and intubation without anaesthesia can even be harmful. If the prehospital care is provided by an experienced physician and by a HEMS organisation (Helicopter Emergency Medical Service), ALS interventions may be beneficial for patients with multiple injuries and severe brain injuries. However, the results are contradictory.
conclusionsALS seems to improve survival in patients with myocardial infarction and BLS seems to be the proper level of care for patients with penetrating injuries. Some studies indicate a beneficial effect of ALS among patients with blunt head injuries or multiple injuries. There is also some evidence in favour of ALS among patients with epileptic seizures as well as those with a respiratory distress.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.