ArticleArchives of academic emergency medicine2022
Comparing Emergency Medical Services Processing Times for Stroke Patients Before and During COVID-19 Pandemic; A Cross-sectional Study.
Article in Archives of academic emergency medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
6 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- Development and Internal Validation of a Multivariable Prehospital Prediction Score for Critical Illness Progression and 30-Day Mortality in Non-Traumatic EMS Patients.Journal of healthcare leadership · 2026Article
- A nationwide analysis of emergency medical services' responses during six waves of COVID-19.Journal of public health research · 2025Article
- Impact of Smart Glasses on Patient Care Time in Emergency Medical Services Ambulance.Prehospital and disaster medicine · 2023Article
- Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on advanced life support units' prehospital management of the stroke code in four Spanish regions: an observational study.BMC emergency medicine · 2023Observational
- Analysis of articles in the Journal of Archives of Academic Emergency Medicine in 2022.Archives of academic emergency medicine · 2023Article
- Using Sodium Bicarbonate During Prolonged Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Prehospital Setting; a Retrospective Cross-sectional Study.Archives of academic emergency medicine · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has directly affected global healthcare, especially the front-line of healthcare provision, including emergency medical services (EMS). The present study aimed to compare EMS processing times and the number of acute stroke patients serviced by EMS before and during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This is a retrospective observational review of Bangkok Surgico Medical Ambulance and Rescue Team (S.M.A.R.T.) EMS data from 2018 to 2021. The EMS processing times and the number of acute strokes were compared between pre-COVID-19 era (January 1st, 2018, and December 31st, 2019) and during COVID-19 pandemic (January 1st, 2020, and December 31st, 2021). Results: The number of stroke patients transported by EMS in one year, before and during COVID-19 pandemic was 128 and 150 cases, respectively (Change difference = 17.2%, 95% CI: 11.1-24.9). However, the average number of acute stroke patients per week was not significantly different (p = 0.386). The mean total EMS processing times before and during COVID-19 era were 25.59 ± 11.12 and 45.47 ± 14.61 minutes, respectively (mean difference of 19.88 (95% CI: 16.77-22.99) minutes; p < 0.001). The mean time from symptom onset to EMS arrival (p < 0.001), the mean call time (p < 0.001), the mean response time (p < 0.001), and the mean scene time (p < 0.001) were significantly higher during COVID-19 period. The mean transportation times for stroke patients was similar before and during COVID-19 pandemic (10.14 ± 6.28 and 9.41 ± 6.31 minutes, respectively; p = 0.338). Conclusions: During COVID-19 pandemic, the number of acute stroke patients serviced by EMS increased substantially, but there was no difference in the average number of patients per week. During the pandemic, EMS processing times markedly increased.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.