Paramedic PapersHome Daily scans 29 September 2026
Daily scan
Paramedic research, 29 September 2026
8 new paramedic and prehospital papers from the 29 September 2026 scan.
Listen to the 29 September 2026 podcast episode
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No sex differences in OHCA with confirmed CAD
Post hoc analysis of a prospective European OHCA registry (2012–2023) testing whether sex-based differences in care persist when obstructive CAD is angiographically confirmed as the arrest cause — among 580 patients (15.3% women), PCI use, procedural success, targeted temperature management and ECPR were similar between sexes, 30-day survival was 66.2% in women vs 61.5% in men (p=0.33), favourable neurological outcome 55.1% vs 53.8% (p=0.82), and female sex was not independently associated with 30-day survival (adjusted OR 0.75, not significant).
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Prehospital minithoracostomy vs chest drain
Retrospective physician-led HEMS cohort (94 trauma patients) comparing prehospital minithoracostomy with chest drainage — minithoracostomy carried no meaningful scene-time penalty and fewer recorded complications, but non-random allocation and few events make it hypothesis-generating only.
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NRB + nasal cannula inferior to flush-rate preoxygenation
Healthy-volunteer crossover study — NRB plus nasal cannula at 15–25 L/min each produced expired oxygen of 68–75% versus 85% for flush-rate NRB, so the portable-cylinder workaround is inferior when supply allows flush rate.
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Post-OHCA outcomes at Victorian Heart Hospital
Audit of 121 post-arrest patients at the Victorian Heart Hospital — 50.4% survived to discharge with 92.6% prehospital ROSC and 61.2% shockable rhythms, and 24% needed interhospital transfer, mostly for non-cardiac causes.
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Paediatric non-transport re-call rates low
US retrospective study of 1.85 million paediatric ambulance calls (40% not transported) — only 1% of non-transported children re-called and were transported within 72 hours and deaths were rare (0.1% dead on scene at re-call), with under-5s, neurologic impressions and disadvantaged areas over-represented among re-calls.
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Co-design of urine culture stewardship in ED
Qualitative co-design study at Townsville ED (7 workshops, 35 emergency physicians) building a theory-informed intervention against low-value urine cultures — culture, complexity and efficiency drove over-ordering, with education, nudges, clinical champions and audit/feedback chosen as the fix.
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AI triage of ED CT brain scans
Retrospective validation of an AI model classifying 3,424 ED CT brain scans as urgent or not — 98.3% negative predictive value with no false negative needing urgent intervention at the index visit, putting ~64% of scans in the possibly-expedite bucket pending a prospective trial.
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Rescuer harms during resuscitation are rare
A scoping review of 20 studies found harms to rescuers during cardiac arrest response are rare, with infection transmission mitigated by PPE, electrical leakage during CPR near ICDs below concern, and the main fatal risk being drowning during water rescue.