TY  - JOUR
AB  - An “event” tree technique was used alongside conventional methods for structuring and reporting an audit of ambulance services in Lancashire, UK, for patients with suspected acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and cases of cardiac arrest. The audit covered 4,100 patients attended by ambulance crews. Cross tabulations showed that audit targets were not achieved for recording heart rhythms in non‐arrest cases, administering aspirin and intravenous cannulation. The event tree, linked electronically with the audit database, demonstrated explicitly that only one‐third of non‐arrest patients received all three procedures. With cardiac arrests, the event tree showed that survival rates to hospital were similar for patients in ventricular fibrillation who were defibrillated regardless of whether or not they received anti‐arrhythmic drugs. Interpretation of their performance levels is facilitated by the event‐tree technique that allows relationships between clinical procedures and outcomes of ambulance journeys to be displayed.
VL  - 9
IS  - 2
SN  - 1477-7274
DO  - 10.1108/14777270410536402
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/14777270410536402
AU  - Stoykova Boyka
AU  - Dowie Robin
AU  - Gregory Richard P.F.
AU  - Rowsell Kathleen V.
AU  - Lane Stephen
PY  - 2004
Y1  - 2004/01/01
TI  - “Event tree” approach for facilitating audit of ambulance cardiac services
T2  - Clinical Governance: An International Journal
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 115
EP  - 122
Y2  - 2024/04/25
ER  -