SHORT REPORT
A study of police operated dispatch to acute coronary syndrome cases arising from 112 emergency calls in Aarhus county, Denmark
1 Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
2 Department of Cardiology, Skejby Hospital, Denmark
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr M S Andersen
c/o Trauma Center, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus Hospital, Noerrebrogade 44, Building 7Z, 8000 Aarhus county, Denmark; a_mikkel{at}hotmail.com
Background: The accuracy of the Danish police operated "112" emergency call system was studied. Dispatch of the anaesthesiologist staffed mobile emergency care unit (MECU) to acute coronary syndrome (ACS) cases was used as an indicator of accuracy of dispatch to life threatening emergencies.
Methods: This was an observational cohort study of patients given a 112 system report of heart attack and patients with a provisional diagnosis of ACS made on scene by the MECU. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated.
Results: There were 341 reports of "heart attack" and 205 patients with ACS. Sensitivity was 75% (95% CI 68% to 80%) specificity 90% (89% to 92%) and positive predictive value 45% (40% to 50%).
Conclusion: The accuracy of 112 dispatch of the MECU was found to be moderate. We suggest more training of dispatch staff and medical supervision.
Abbreviations: ACS, acute coronary syndrome; EMS, emergency medical services; MECU, mobile emergency care unit
Keywords: Acute coronary syndrome; cardiac arrest; emergency medical services; medical dispatch; out of hospital medical services
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Emerg. Med. J. 2006 23: 665.
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