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Evaluation of the Effect of Prehospital Application of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Therapy in Acute Respiratory Distress

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

G. Scott Warner
G. Scott Warner*
Affiliation:
Cullman Emergency Medical Services, Cullman, Alabama, USA
*
Medical DirectorCullman Emergency Medical Services1890 Alabama Highway 157Suite 420Cullman, AL 35055USA E-mail: swarner@prn-inc.net
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Abstract

Objective:

The impact of the use of mask continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on patients with acute respiratory distress in the prehospital, rural setting has not been defined. The goal was to test the use of CPAP using the Respironics® WhisperFlow® CPAP in patients presenting with acute respiratory distress. This was a collaborative evaluation of CPAP involving a rural EMS agency and the regional medical center. Patient outcomes including the overall rate of intubation-both in the field and in the emergency department (ED), and length of stay in the hospital and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) were tracked.

Methods:

The study was an eight-month, crossover, observational, non-blinded study.

Results:

During the four months of baseline data collection, 7.9% of patients presenting with respiratory distress were intubated within the first 48 hours of care. Their average ICU length of stay was 8.0 days. During the four months of data collection when CPAP was available in the prehospital setting, intubation was not required for any patients in the field or in the ED. Admissions to the ICU decreased. Those patients admitted to the ICU, the average ICU length of stay deceased to 4.3 days.

Conclusions:

The use of the CPAP in the prehospital setting is beneficial for patients in acute respiratory distress.

Keywords

continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)emergency departmentintubationrespiratory distressWhisperFlow®
Type
Brief Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 25 , Issue 1 , February 2010 , pp. 87 - 91
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2010

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