Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39450438›Full record

ArticleEmergency medicine Australasia : EMA2025

Prevalence of clinical deterioration in the pre-hospital setting.

Emma Bourke-Matas, Tan Doan, Kelly-Ann Bowles, Emma Bosley

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Emma Bourke-MatasDepartment of Paramedicine, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Tan DoanDepartment of Health, Emergency Services Complex, Queensland Ambulance Service, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Kelly-Ann BowlesDepartment of Paramedicine, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Emma BosleyDepartment of Paramedicine, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-4645-613X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveImproved understanding of the deteriorating patient in the pre-hospital setting may result in earlier recognition and response. Considering the effects of undetected deterioration are profound, it is fundamental to report the prevalence of pre-hospital clinical deterioration to advance our understanding. The present study investigated the prevalence of pre-hospital clinical deterioration and adverse events (AEs) within 3 days of the pre-hospital episode of care.

methodsThis retrospective cohort study was based on pre-hospital incidents involving adult patients attended by Queensland Ambulance Service between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2020. Due to lacking a standardised definition of pre-hospital clinical deterioration, established early warning scores (NEWS, MEWS and Q-ADDS) were calculated from pre-hospital vital signs to identify clinical deterioration. Linked hospital data were used to identify the occurrence of an AE.

resultsSome degree of physiological derangement was initially observed in over half of the patients, and pre-hospital clinical deterioration was seen in 2.7%-4% of patients. The prevalence of AEs was 3.2%. Patients that experienced an AE were more likely to be male, elderly, suffering from a medical (non-trauma) condition, and had a greater burden of disease. Concerningly, almost 50% of patients that suffered an AE did not meet escalation thresholds of NEWS, MEWS or Q-ADDS.

conclusionsThe present study found the prevalence of pre-hospital clinical deterioration and AEs subsequent to pre-hospital episodes of care to be low. Future research should prioritise using standardised criteria to define pre-hospital clinical deterioration and evaluate the performance of early warning scores.

Indexed as

Clinical DeteriorationEmergency Medical ServicesAdultAgedAged, 80 and overCohort StudiesEarly Warning ScoreFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPrevalenceQueenslandRetrospective Studiesadverse eventclinical deteriorationearly warning scoreout‐of‐hospitalpre‐hospital

Identifiers

PMID39450438
PMCPMC11744426

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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.