Emergency medical technician treatment of hypoglycemia without transport.

Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Box 356123, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. strote@u.washington.edu

OBJECTIVES: We examine the safety and efficacy of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) providing treatment to stable hypoglycemic patients without transport or paramedic involvement, which is currently beyond their scope of practice. METHODS: All hypoglycemic patients treated in the field without transport for 12 months were included. We used a patient follow-up survey to compare the outcomes of EMT and paramedic-treated patients on the occurrence of repeat hypoglycemic episodes, 911 calls, and/or in-hospital reevaluation within 48 hours; patients' adhering to the provided instructions; and patient satisfaction. RESULTS: Of 402 cases identified, we were able to contact and survey 203 (51%). There were no statistically significant differences for any of the outcome measures studied. Patients treated by EMTs (110) and paramedics (93) had 8 (7%) and 7 (8%) episodes of repeat hypoglycemia, 3 (3%) and 5 (5%) repeat 911 calls, and 9 (8%) and 10 (11%) hospital evaluations, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Emergency medical technicians performed comparably with paramedics treating hypoglycemia without transport.

PMID: 18358939 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]