ABSTRACTS
A Prehospital Multi-Year Analysis of Human Encounters with SelachimorphaAuthor: Ginny Kaplan PhD, MHS, Paramedic, FAEMS | Department Chair & Assistant Professor | Methodist University Associate Authors: Hubble, Michael W., PhD, MBA, NRP
Introduction Much has been made of Selachimorpha (shark) encounters in contemporary media; however, there is scant evidence to detail aspects of shark encounters treated by emergency medical service (EMS) clinicians. While the Global Shark Attack File (GSAF) maintains data on reported shark encounters worldwide, there is scant information on the prehospital presentation and EMS management of such patients. Objective To determine factors associated with Selachimorpha encounters treated by EMS in the United States. Methods A comparative analysis of both the 2022 and 2023 ESO Data Collaboratives was conducted. Patients were included if the injury detail field of the patient chart was recorded as “bite-shark.” Non-venomous marine animal encounters were excluded since the specific marine animal encountered was unknown. Descriptive statistics were utilized to determine cluster characteristics of shark encounters, while univariate tests analyzed relationships between various demographic and treatment factors. Utilizing EMS call-receipt time, timelines of shark encounters were constructed to elucidate patterns based on diurnal rhythms and seasonal variations of encounters. Results There were 58 EMS responses to shark encounters, 33 in 2022 and 25 in 2023. In 2022, the majority of encounters occurred in July (30.0%), while in 2023, the majority occurred in May (36.0%). Most encounters occurred between the hours of 12:00 am and 8:00 pm (72.7%) in 2022 and between 2:00 pm and 10:00 pm (60.0%) in 2023. However, there were clusters of encounters in the early morning hours between 6:00 am and 9:00 am (12.1% v. 12.0%) and in the late afternoon between 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm (33.0% v. 24.0%) in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Over both years, 22(37.2%) patients received bandaging, 17(27.7%) IVs, 14(23.2%) tourniquets, 13(21.7%) hemorrhage control, and 5(8.6%) who admitted to alcohol or drug use. Mean(+SD) revised trauma scores for years 2022 and 2023 were 11.87 (+ 0.43) and 12.00 (+ 0.0), while mean(+SD) pain scores were 5.25 (+ 3.0) and 5.19 (+3.1), respectively. Conclusions More research is needed in this area related to the location of the actual shark encounter, presence of provocation, type of shark, and other factors that could inform planning, protocols, and resource allocation for EMS systems.
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