Emergency Medical Services amid New Wave of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outbreak in Khon Kaen, Thailand

Authors

  • Korakot Apiratwarakul Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand; Integrated Emergency Medical Services and Pre-hospital Care Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1984-0865
  • Takaaki Suzuki Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, University of Tsukuba Hospital, Tsukuba, Japan
  • Ismet Celebi Department of Paramedic, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey
  • Somsak Tiamkao Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
  • Vajarabhongsa Bhudhisawasdi Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
  • Dhanu Gaysonsiri Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand; Integrated Emergency Medical Services and Pre-hospital Care Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
  • Kamonwon Ienghong Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand; Integrated Emergency Medical Services and Pre-hospital Care Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2021.6243

Keywords:

Emergency medical services, Prehospital emergency care, Coronavirus disease 2019, Pandemics, Emergency care

Abstract

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 outbreaks occurring in many countries around the world have had a significant impact on emergency medical services (EMS) in terms of the number of operations and procedures performed, including those on ambulances. However, the number of EMS amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Khon Kaen, Thailand has not been well studied.

AIM: The aim of this study was to identify and analyze the relationship between the use of EMS and the outbreak of COVID-19.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was done in Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen, Thailand with a single EMS centered. Data was collected between March 27, 2021 and April 9, 2021 and designated as (Day-7 to Day 7 of pandemic services) as well as normal services which collected data between March 27 and April 9, 2019 (Day-7 to Day 7 of normal services).

RESULTS: Three hundred eight EMS operations were examined. A total of 77.9% (n = 95) of pandemic services were for males and the mean age of the patients was 32.1 ± 5.4 years. During the normal services in 2019, the average number of EMS operations was 13.3 ± 2.4 times per day over the two weeks of the study. In 2021, before the outbreak (Day-7 to Day 1), the average number of EMS operations was 13.2 ± 1.8 times/day. After Day 1, there was a drop in the number of EMS operations which was associated with an increase in COVID-19 infections (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: The number of EMS users during the COVID-19 outbreak decreased considerably compared to the pre-epidemic levels and normal service intervals, including the severity of the users, were more severe than normal.

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Published

2021-06-05

How to Cite

1.
Apiratwarakul K, Suzuki T, Celebi I, Tiamkao S, Bhudhisawasdi V, Gaysonsiri D, Ienghong K. Emergency Medical Services amid New Wave of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outbreak in Khon Kaen, Thailand. Open Access Maced J Med Sci [Internet]. 2021 Jun. 5 [cited 2024 Mar. 29];9(E):492-5. Available from: https://oamjms.eu/index.php/mjms/article/view/6243

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