Publications by authors named "T J Puolakka"
Article Synopsis
- - Patient safety is increasingly important in emergency medical services (EMS), particularly with an aging population in high-income countries leading to more EMS calls and discussions around non-conveyance safety.
- - A study analyzed 73 EMS-related complaints from 2013-2019, finding that most complaints were about non-conveyance and often dealt with ethical conduct and paramedic behavior.
- - Overall, the number of complaints was low, and fostering better communication and respect in paramedic-patient interactions could help reduce these issues further.
Evaluating stroke campaigns and associated behavioural changes is crucial to assess intervention effectiveness and inform future strategies. We aimed to evaluate patient's and bystanders' foreknowledge of stroke signs and symptoms and their response at stroke onset. We interviewed stroke patients using a validated questionnaire or their bystanders if the stroke patient had disabling stroke.
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- - The study analyzes stroke prevalence and risk factors in Qatar from January 2014 to September 2020, revealing that a significant portion of patients were diagnosed with ischemic stroke and had common risk factors like hypertension and diabetes.
- - Out of nearly 12,000 patients analyzed, most were young, predominantly Asian and Arab men, with a median age of 52 years; emergency treatment for stroke was commonly received within 4.5 hours but only a small percentage underwent advanced interventions like thrombolysis.
- - The findings suggest that stroke in Qatar reflects unique demographic and health challenges, indicating a need for tailored prevention and management strategies to address the rising incidence of stroke in this diverse population.
Background: Emergency medical services (EMS) were the first point of contact for many COVID-19 patients during the pandemic. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the non-conveyance decision of a COVID-19 patient was more frequently associated with a new EMS call than direct ambulance transport to the hospital.
Methods: All confirmed COVID-19 patients with an EMS call within 14 days of symptom onset were included in the study.