Prehospital XXXX Administration as a Public Health Surveillance Tool: A Retrospective Validation Study.

@entity4521 @entity1 @entity341 @entity4784 @entity1510 @entity1445 @entity130
BACKGROUND: Abuse or unintended @entity1445 ( @entity1445 ) of opiates and @entity4521 may result in prehospital and @entity341 ( @entity341 ) care. Prehospital @entity1510 use has been suggested as a surrogate marker of community opiate ODs. The study objective was to verify externally whether prehospital @entity1510 use is a surrogate marker of community opiate ODs by comparing Emergency Medical Services (EMS) @entity1510 administration records to an independent database of @entity341 visits for opiate and @entity4521 ODs in the same community. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of prehospital and @entity341 data from July 2009 through June 2013 was conducted. Prehospital @entity1510 administration data obtained from the electronic medical records (EMRs) of a large private EMS provider serving a metropolitan area were considered a surrogate marker for suspected opiate @entity1445 . Comparison data were obtained from the regional @entity130 /psychiatric @entity341 that receives the majority of the @entity1445 @entity1 . The @entity341 maintains a de-identified database of @entity4784 for surveillance of narcotic use in the metropolitan area. The @entity341 database was queried for ODs associated with opiates or @entity4521 . Cross-correlation analysis was used to test if prehospital @entity1510 administration was independent of @entity341 visits for opiate/ @entity4521 ODs. RESULTS: @entity1510 was administered during 1,812 prehospital @entity1 encounters, and 1,294 @entity341 visits for opiate/ @entity4521 ODs were identified. The distribution of @entity1 in the prehospital and @entity341 datasets did not differ by gender, but it did differ by race and age. The frequency of @entity1510 administration by prehospital providers varied directly with the frequency of @entity341 visits for opiate/ @entity4521 ODs. A monthly increase of two @entity341 visits for opiate-related ODs was associated with an increase in one prehospital @entity1510 administration (cross-correlation coefficient [CCF]=0.44; P=.0021). A monthly increase of 100 @entity341 visits for @entity4521 -related ODs was associated with an increase in 94 prehospital @entity1510 administrations (CCF=0.46; P=.0012). CONCLUSIONS: Frequency of @entity1510 administration by EMS providers in the prehospital setting varied directly with frequency of opiate/ @entity4521 @entity1445 -related @entity341 visits. The data correlated both for short-term frequency and longer term trends of use. However, there was a marked difference in demographic data suggesting neither data source alone should be relied upon to determine which populations are at risk within the community. Lindstrom HA , Clemency BM , Snyder R , Consiglio JD , May PR , Moscati RM . Prehospital @entity1510 administration as a public health surveillance tool: a retrospective validation study. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2015;30(4):1-5.
