Prehospital Emergency Care of Obstructive Respiratory Emergencies With the Use of Teleconsultation

September 21, 2015 updated by: RWTH Aachen University
The aim of the study is to investigate the quality of prehospital emergency care in acute respiratory emergencies, when paramedics are supported telemedically by an EMS physician.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Six ambulances from five different Emergency Medical Service (EMS) districts are equipped with a portable telemedicine system. In cases of acute obstructive, respiratory emergencies the paramedics can use this system to contact a so called "tele-EMS physician" after consent of the patient was obtained. The tele-EMS physician has an audio-connection to the EMS team and receives vital parameters (e.g., ECG, pulse oximetry, non-invasive blood pressure) in real-time. The transmission of still pictures (taken with a smartphone), 12-lead-ECGs and video streaming from the inside of the ambulance can also be carried out, if indicated. The tele-EMS physician supports the EMS team in obtaining all relevant medical history, diagnosis and can delegate the application of medications. This can be carried out to bridge the time to the arrival of an EMS physician or in less severe cases without an EMS physician on-scene. The quality of prehospital care and the possible influences on the initial inhospital phase should be investigated and compared with regular EMS.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

17

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Germany
      • Aachen, Germany, 52074
        • University Hospital Aachen

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Obstructive, respiratory emergency
  • Verbal consent for teleconsultation obtained or patient is not able to consent due the severity of the emergency

Exclusion Criteria:

  • No respiratory emergency
  • Refused consent for teleconsultation

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Device: Teleconsultation
In cases of acute obstructive, respiratory emergencies if patients give informed consent the paramedics can use this system to contact a so called "tele-EMS physician" who has an audio-connection to the EMS team and receives vital parameters (e.g., ECG, pulse oximetry, non-invasive blood pressure) in real-time. The transmission of still pictures (taken with a smartphone), 12-lead-ECGs and video streaming from the inside of the ambulance can also be carried out, if indicated. The tele-EMS physician supports the EMS team in obtaining all relevant medical history, diagnosis and can delegate the application of medications. This can be carried out to bridge the time to the arrival of an EMS physician or in less severe cases without an EMS physician on-scene. The quality of prehospital care and the possible influences on the initial inhospital phase should be investigated and compared with regular EMS.
Device: Teleconsultation
Teleconsultation for the EMS in acute respiratory emergencies

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Oxygen Saturation
Time Frame: average 1 hour
Measurement of pulse oximetric oxygen saturation at the timepoint of first contact with a physician (EMS physician OR hospital arrival)
average 1 hour

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Quality of emergency care
Time Frame: average 1 hour
Analysis of the quality of prehospital care on the basis of published guidelines for asthma / COPD.
average 1 hour
Rate of ventilation
Time Frame: average 1 hour
Fraction of patients that receive invasive or non-invasive ventilation during the prehospital phase
average 1 hour
Rate of complications
Time Frame: 2 hours
Rate of complications due to medications: allergic reaction, heart rhythm problems
2 hours

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

RWTH Aachen University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

August 1, 2012

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2013

Study Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 12, 2012

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 16, 2012

First Posted (Estimate)

July 18, 2012

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

September 22, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 21, 2015

Last Verified

September 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 005-1003-0034-4
  • PtJ-Az.: z0909im002b (Other Grant/Funding Number: PTJ)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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