Transport outcomes and dispatch determinants in a paramedic long-term care program: a pilot study.

Objectives: Long-term care (LTC) patients are often sent to emergency departments (EDs) by ambulance. In this novel extended care paramedic (ECP) program, specially trained paramedics manage LTC patients on site. The objective of this pilot study was to describe the dispatch and disposition of LTC patients treated by ECPs and emergency paramedics.

Out-of-hospital continuous positive airway pressure ventilation versus usual care in acute respiratory failure: a randomized controlled trial.

Study Objective: Continuous positive airway pressure ventilation (CPAP) in appropriately selected patients with acute respiratory failure has been shown to reduce the need for tracheal intubation in hospital. Despite several case series, the effectiveness of out-of-hospital CPAP has not been rigorously studied. We performed a prospective, randomized, nonblinded, controlled trial to determine whether patients in severe respiratory distress treated with CPAP in the out-of-hospital setting have lower overall tracheal intubation rates than those treated with usual care.