DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2019.v07i01.064

Pages: 357-362

Background: There have been several reports concerning the dispatch of physician-staffed ambulances and rapid car, with the activities of these vehicles described in detail. Accordingly, we retrospectively analyzed the activities of our doctor car (DC) in order to clarify whether or not the DC is indeed useful for prehospital care. Methods: From February 2016 to November 2018, a medical chart review was retrospectively performed for all patients transported by the DC to our hospital, and these patients were included as subjects in the present study. The exclusion criterion was transportation to local medical facilities by a normal ambulance equipped with only emergency medical technician (EMT)s after medical management by staff of the doctor helicopter (DH). We compared the vital signs on contact and on arrival at our hospital to investigate the usefulness of the DC separately among subjects with and without cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA). Results: During the investigation period, there were 89 dispatches of the DC, including 12 subjects with CPA. The average systolic blood pressure on contact tended to be greater than that at hospital arrival, and percutaneous oxygen saturation on contact tended to be lower than on arrival at hospital among the 77 subjects without CPA. The median GCS on contact was lower than that on arrival. Among the 77 subjects without CPA, 74 obtained a survival outcome. Conclusion: Prehospital medical care provided by the DC tended to improve consciousness and oxygenation of patients without CPA, suggesting that the DC may be useful for improving patients’ outcomes.