Critical care transportation by paramedics: a cross-sectional survey.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to gather data from paramedics practicing in the critical care transport setting to guide development of the education, training, and clinical practices for certification as a critical care paramedic.

Methods: A paper survey of 1991 randomly selected nationally registered (NREMT) paramedics was conducted. Nine paramedics with residences in small US Pacific Island territories were not included in the survey.

The prehospital 12-lead electrocardiogram's effect on time to initiation of reperfusion therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing literature.

The prehospital electrocardiogram (ECG) is becoming the standard of care of suspected cardiac chest pain. We evaluated the evidence regarding the prehospital ECG and sought to quantify the reduction in time to reperfusion therapy attributable to the prehospital ECG. We conducted a systematic review and analyzed studies that were conducted in emergency medical systems relevant to providers in the United States.