Paramedic research, 10 October 2026

9 new paramedic and prehospital papers from the 10 October 2026 scan.

Listen to the 10 October 2026 podcast episode

ITDs in OHCA: early wins, late losses

Resuscitation · Registry · Hypothesis-generating

A 97,439-patient US national EMS sample found impedance threshold device use was associated with better prehospital ROSC (aOR 1.09) but lower survival to discharge (23.9% vs 32.0%, aOR 0.68), with even more extreme trends when combined with active compression-decompression.
Paediatric OHCA in Australia and NZ: Aus-ROC report

Resuscitation · Registry · Context only

First Australasian epidemiology report on paediatric OHCA from the Aus-ROC Epistry registry, describing incidence, characteristics and outcomes across Australia and New Zealand — abstract not yet available, so no numbers to quote yet.
Unwitnessed arrests: mostly women, mostly at home

Heart & Lung · Systematic review · Context only

A systematic review of 22 studies (210,028 people) found female sex and arrest at home were the most consistent determinants of unwitnessed OHCA, with weaker, mostly unadjusted evidence for night or sleep arrests, deprivation and psychiatric illness.
Redirecting non-urgent patients to primary care looks safe

Emergency Medicine Australasia · Systematic review · Supports current practice

A scoping review of nine studies found redirecting non-urgent ED patients to primary care appeared safe — 9.7% return rate, 1.7% hospitalisation and 0.07% mortality — with triage, vital signs and documentation the commonest safeguards.
Paramedics feel weakest in neonatal and paediatric mental health

Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway · Cross-sectional · Context only

A survey of 253 Finnish paramedic graduates found moderate self-rated paediatric competence (mean 2.92/5) but low neonatal competence (2.04), with paediatric mental health emergencies rated lowest (1.30) and limited simulation or placement opportunities reported.
Building a prehospital suicidal-ideation policy from scratch

Crisis · Other · Context only

A Los Angeles County EMS quality improvement committee developed a comprehensive prehospital policy for suicidal ideation and behaviour after identifying gaps in standardised terminology, risk assessment, disposition support and safety planning.
Priority transport in multi-patient crashes: sicker, not harmed

Critical Care · Cohort · Context only

Across 143,130 patients in Japanese traffic multi-patient incidents, priority (first-out) transport carried a 2.2-point adjusted risk difference for death or severe injury that peaked at 6.4 points with short scene times — a severity-selection signature rather than evidence of harm from early transport.
A third of MI patients delay over two hours

Indian Journal of Community Medicine · Cross-sectional · Hypothesis-generating

A cross-sectional study of 105 myocardial infarction patients in Ahmedabad found a median symptom-to-hospital time of 90 minutes, with 35.2% delayed beyond 2 hours and female sex predicting delay (OR 3.2).
Stroke app speeds prehospital-to-ED handover

JMIR Medical Informatics · Other · Context only

A South Korean pilot of a mobile app that streams stroke data from ambulances to EDs found shorter onset-to-door times in 34 app-supported transports versus 129 matched standard transports.