Out-Of-Hospital Research in the Urban Environment

Abstract

The urban prehospital setting is one of the best venues in which to examine life-saving resuscitation interventions. When the entire catchment of the urban emergency medical services (EMS) system is used, large-population patient studies can be generated. Certain unique features give several urban centers the ability to conduct clinical trials in the out-of-hospital setting. Without resuscitation at the scene, it is rare for cardiac arrest patients to survive. In the case of trauma resuscitation, prehospital care can impact outcome significantly. Since coronary artery disease and trauma kill nearly one-million persons annually in the United States, prehospital care research is a worthwhile endeavor. This rationale for prehospital care research is strengthened by the relatively high potential for full recovery.