Evaluation of the Effect of the Education on Prehospital Drill Type Intraosseous Access of Level 1 Emergency Medical Technicians

Ahn,  Ki Ok; Jung,  Jin Hee; Kim,  Do Kyun; Shin,  Sang Do

J Korean Soc Emerg Med > Volume 19(6); 2008 > Article

Original Article

Journal of The Korean Society of Emergency Medicine 2008;19(6): 611-616.

Evaluation of the Effect of the Education on Prehospital Drill Type Intraosseous Access of Level 1 Emergency Medical Technicians

Ki Ok Ahn, Jin Hee Jung, Do Kyun Kim, Sang Do Shin

¹Rescue & First Aid Education Center, Seoul Fire Academy, Seoul, Korea.
²Department of Emergency Medicine, Ewha Womans University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
³Department of Emergency Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. shinsangdo@medmail.co.kr

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE:
Intraosseous (IO) is an alternative vascular access method for critically ill patients, especially pediatric arrest patients. This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of the education on pre-hospital IO Access of Level 1 Emergency Medical Technicians (Level-1 EMTs).
METHODS:
Forty four Level-1 EMTs participated in the IO educational program at Seoul Fire Academy. The IO educational program was consisted of a one-hour lecture followed by a one-hour practical training about the use of the powered device (EZ-IO) to artificial bones. Before and after the program, the knowledge and attitude about IO access were measured with 5 points-scale (1 in lowest and 5 in highest positive response) by the structured questionnaire. After the program, the participants were tested on skill performance (success rate of insertion and procedural time) of IO access.
RESULTS:
The mean working time and age of participants was 7.6+/-2.4 years and 32.1+/-4.2 years, respectively. Median score (5%~95%) of knowledge about indication of IO access was increased from 2(1-4) to 4(3-5) (p<0.01). Median score (5%~95%) on attitude was improved from 2(1-4) to 4(2-5) (p<0.01). Twelve EMTs (30.7%) showed negative response on IO access in the prehospital area. The success rate of insertion at first time was 84.1% and the mean time to success was 45.5+/-9.4 seconds.
CONCLUSION:
After 2 hour educational program for Level-1 EMTs, the knowledge and attitude of IO access improved significantly and skill performance was very excellent. We can consider the prehospital IO access of level-1 EMTs in Korea.

Key words: Infusion, Intraosseous, Emergency medical technicians, Emergency Medical Services