ABSTRACTS
Mental Health Emergencies Represent a Large Proportion of Pediatric EMS Encounters in North DakotaAuthor: Chettie Greer, Christopher T. E. Price, Alison Treichel, Remle P. Crowe, J. Brent Myers, Jennifer K. Wilson, Christopher Montera, and Antonio R. Fernandez | | Associate Authors:
Introduction: Pediatric patients represent a minority of 9-1-1 responses. As such, statewide evaluations of the types of complaints for which emergency medical services (EMS) is requested can help prepare EMS clinicians to care for pediatric patients. Objective: To describe the top five EMS provider primary impressions for pediatric patients in North Dakota. Methods: This retrospective analysis evaluated all 9-1-1 responses submitted to the North Dakota EMS Repository for patients younger than 18 years of age from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2023. The top five most commonly documented provider primary impressions were identified. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Results: Over the study period, there were 168,905 9-1-1 responses in North Dakota, of which 6% (n = 10,104) involved pediatric patients. Among all pediatric 9-1-1 patients, 10% (n = 1050) were younger than 1 year, 18% (n = 1820) were 1–4 years, 23% (n = 2353) were 5–12 years, and 48% (n = 4881) were 13–17 years. The top five most common impressions were as follows: (1) other symptoms and signs involving emotional state; (2) encounter for general examination without complaint; (3) injury, unspecified; (4) unspecified convulsions; and (5) anxiety disorder, unspecified. Encounter for general examination without complaint was in the top three for all age categories. Impressions indicating an injury were represented in the top five for all patients 1–17 years. There were important differences noted when comparing impressions by patient age category. The top five impressions for patients younger than 1 year indicated that these patients primarily required EMS care for respiratory distress or fevers. Impressions for patients 1–4 years indicated that EMS care was primarily required for fever, convulsions, or injuries. The most commonly documented impression among the top five for patients 5–12 years and those 13–17 years indicated that EMS care was required for a mental health emergency in these age groups. Two of the top five impressions for patients in the 13–17 age group indicated that EMS care was required for a mental health emergency. Conclusion: Mental health emergencies represented a large proportion of EMS encounters involving children in North Dakota, highlighting an important system-level need. Strategies for providing appropriate care for this pediatric population should be investigated.
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