Publications by authors named "Melanie Villani"
Background: The outcomes of patients who call an ambulance but are discharged at scene reflect the safety and quality of emergency medical service (EMS) care. While previous studies have examined the outcomes of patients discharged at scene, none have specifically focused on paramedic-initiated discharge. This study aims to describe the outcomes of adult patients discharged at scene by paramedics and identify factors associated with 72-hour outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims/hypothesis: The aim of this work was to investigate clinical outcomes following severe hypoglycaemia requiring prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) management.
Methods: We carried out a prospective, observational study of adults with diabetes attended by prehospital EMS for management of severe hypoglycaemia between April 2016 and July 2017. Information on precipitants, hospitalisation, length of hospital stay and recurrence was collected at 1 and 3 months following the episode of severe hypoglycaemia.
Geographical variation of diabetic emergencies attended by prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) and the relationship between area-level social and demographic factors and risk of a diabetic emergency were examined. All cases of hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia attended by Ambulance Victoria between 1/01/2009 and 31/12/2015 were tabulated by Local Government Area (LGA). Conditional autoregressive models were used to create smoothed maps of age and gender standardised incidence ratio (SIR) of prehospital EMS attendance for a diabetic emergency.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: This study examines prehospital Emergency Medical Service (EMS) utilisation and patterns of demand for hyperglycaemia management, including characteristics of individuals and factors related to hospital transport.
Materials And Methods: A state-wide, community-based observational study of all patients requiring prehospital EMS for hyperglycaemia during a 7 year study period (Jan 2009-Dec 2015) using electronic data from the Ambulance Victoria data warehouse was conducted. Pre-specified variables related to patient demographics, comorbidities, examination findings, paramedic treatment and transport outcomes were obtained.
Background: Acute diabetic emergencies are often managed by prehospital Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The projected growth in prevalence of diabetes is likely to result in rising demand for prehospital EMS that are already under pressure. The aims of this study were to model the temporal trends and provide forecasts of prehospital attendances for diabetic emergencies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Diabetes mellitus and blood glucose level (BGL) are emerging as important prognosticators of outcome in critically ill patients. We evaluated the effect of diabetes and pre-hospital BGL on survival to hospital discharge and on 12-month functional recovery after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).
Design, Setting And Participants: We performed a retrospective analysis of data from a statewide cardiac arrest registry in Victoria, Australia.
Aims: Diabetes is associated with several acute, life-threatening complications yet there are limited data on the utilisation of prehospital services for their management. This study aimed to examine the utilisation of emergency medical services (EMS) for prehospital hypoglycaemia, including patient characteristics and factors related to hospital transportation.
Methods: An observational study of patients requiring EMS for hypoglycaemia across Victoria, Australia over three years was conducted.