Prevalence of prehospital pain and pain assessment difference between patients and paramedics: a prospective cross-sectional observational study.

Adequate analgesia is one of the most important interventions in emergency medicine. However, studies suggest that many patients are undertreated for pain. There can be many reasons why patients assess their pain differently to the paramedics.

Efficacy and safety in ketamine-guided prehospital analgesia for abdominal pain.

Abdominal pain is a common reason for presentation in the emergency department and for calling emergency medical services. The complexity of abdominal pain also influences the analgesia strategy. However, there are almost no data on the use of ketamine for abdominal pain.

Learning Success and Influencing Factors in Out-of-Hospital Placement of Intravenous Catheters.

Introduction: Placing peripheral intravenous catheters ("IV lines") is a standard procedure for health care professionals in acute and emergency medicine. The study aimed to determine the learning curve and success rates in applying IV lines during a three-year paramedic training and the factors influencing successful placement.

Methods: This was a prospective and noninterventional observational study to determine the influencing factors, learning outcomes, and performance in the placement of IV lines by trainees and experienced paramedics.

[Best practice-example of a paramedic competence system in the context of user and patient safety: the Reutlinger Weg].

The discussion about the competencies and responsibilities of paramedics has been going on for decades and is the subject of controversial legal debates and currently the focus of political attention due to the heterogeneous country-specific design. However, there are only a few published examples of a so-called competency system for the safe and effective use of prehospital emergency medicine interventions. The practical experience of a competence system is presented.

Development of an Adapted Model for Decision-Making to Improve Reasoning and Risk Assessment in an Emergency Team: A Prospective Simulation Study.

Medical staff is rarely trained in structured decision-making, relying instead on intuition without due consideration for the associated pros and cons. We adopted a model for decision-making to improve reasoning and risk assessment and carried out a prospective simulation study using paramedic students in a three-year training program. We conducted a training session in which participants were lectured on decision-making using the FAR-BEK model (German abbreviation for facts, alternatives, risks, competence, decision, control), physiological processes in decision-making under stress, as well as medico-legal aspects for the comprehension and justification of medical decisions.