Effects of Weather and Heliophysical Conditions on Emergency Ambulance Calls for Elevated Arterial Blood Pressure

We hypothesized that weather and space weather conditions were associated with the exacerbation of essential hypertension. The study was conducted during 2009–2010 in the city of Kaunas, Lithuania. We analyzed 13,475 cards from emergency ambulance calls (EACs), in which the conditions for the emergency calls were made coded I.10–I.15. The Kaunas Weather Station provided daily records of air temperature (T), wind speed (WS), relative humidity, and barometric pressure (BP). We evaluated the associations between daily weather variables and daily number of EACs by applying a multivariate Poisson regression. Unfavorable heliophysical conditions (two days after the active-stormy geomagnetic field or the days with solar WS > 600 km/s) increased the daily number of elevated arterial blood pressure (EABP) by 12% (RR = 1.12; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04–1.21); and WS ≥ 3.5 knots during days of T < 1.5 °C and T ≥ 12.5 °C by 8% (RR = 1.08; CI 1.04–1.12). An increase of T by 10 °C and an elevation of BP two days after by 10 hPa were associated with a decrease in RR by 3%. An additional effect of T was detected during days of T ≥ 17.5 °C only in females. Women and patients with grade III arterial hypertension at the time of the ambulance call were more sensitive to weather conditions. These results may help in the understanding of the population’s sensitivity to different weather conditions

Effects of weather and heliophysical conditions on emergency ambulance calls for elevated arterial blood pressure

We hypothesized that weather and space weather conditions were associated with the exacerbation of essential hypertension. The study was conducted during 2009–2010 in the city of Kaunas, Lithuania. We analyzed 13,475 cards from emergency ambulance calls (EACs), in which the conditions for the emergency calls were made coded I.10–I.15. The Kaunas Weather Station provided daily records of air temperature (T), wind speed (WS), relative humidity, and barometric pressure (BP). We evaluated the associations between daily weather variables and daily number of EACs by applying a multivariate Poisson regression. Unfavorable heliophysical conditions (two days after the active-stormy geomagnetic field or the days with solar WS > 600 km/s) increased the daily number of elevated arterial blood pressure (EABP) by 12% (RR = 1.12; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04–1.21); and WS ≥ 3.5 knots during days of T < 1.5 °C and T ≥ 12.5 °C by 8% (RR = 1.08; CI 1.04–1.12). An increase of T by 10 °C and an elevation of BP two days after by 10 hPa were associated with a decrease in RR by 3%. An additional effect of T was detected during days of T ≥ 17.5 °C only in females. Women and patients with grade III arterial hypertension at the time of the ambulance call were more sensitive to weather conditions. These results may help in the understanding of the population’s sensitivity to different weather conditionsAplinkotyros katedraKauno miesto greitosios medicinos pagalbos stotisLietuvos sveikatos mokslų universitetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Short- and long-term survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Kaunas (Lithuania) from 2016 to 2018

Abstract Background No studies analysing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) epidemiology and outcomes in Lithuania were published in the last decade. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. The incidence of OHCA and the demographics and outcomes of patients who were treated for OHCA between 1 and 2016 and 31 December 2018 at Kaunas Emergency Medical Service (EMS) were collected and are reported in accordance with the Utstein recommendations. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of survival to hospital discharge. Results In total, 838 OHCA cases of EMS-treated cardiac arrest (CA) were reported (95.8 per 100.000 inhabitants). The median age was 71 (IQR 58–81) years of age, and 66.7% of patients were males. A total of 73.8% of OHCA cases occurred at home, 59.3% were witnessed by a bystander, and 54.5% received bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The median EMS response time was 10 min. Cardiac aetiology was the leading cause of CA (78.8%). The initial rhythm was shockable in 27.6% of all cases. Return of spontaneous circulation at hospital transfer was evident in 24.9% of all cases. The survival to hospital discharge rate was 10.9%, and the 1-year survival rate was 6.9%. The survival to hospital discharge rate in the Utstein comparator group was 36.1%, and the 1-year survival rate was 27.2%. Five factors were associated with improved survival to hospital discharge: shockable rhythm, time from call to arrival at the patient less than 10 min, witnessed OHCA, age < 80 years, and male sex. Conclusion This is the first OHCA study from Lithuania examining OHCA epidemiology and outcomes over a three year period. Routine OHCA data collection and analysis will allow us to track the efficacy of service improvements and should become a standard practice in all Lithuanian regions. Trial registration: This research was registered in the clinicaltrials.gov database: Identifiers: NCT04784117, Unique Protocol ID: LITOHCA. Brief Title: Out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest Epidemiology and Outcomes in Kaunas 2016–2021

Survival after out of hospital cardiac arrest in Kaunas (Lithuania) in 2016–2018

Web of Science patekęs visas leidinys "RESUSCITATION 2020-Abstracts of the Virtual Congress Abstracts"Purpose of the study: EuReCa TWO study1 has recently reported outcomes from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) from 28 European countries. Unfortunately, there is no data from Lithuania In EuReCa Two study.Wesought to fill the gap and report the outcomes from OHCA in Kaunas, the second largest Lithuanian city with a population of 0.29 million (9.7% of all population in Lithuania). Materials and methods: The incidence, demographics and outcomes of patients who were treated for an OHCA between 1st January 2016 and 31st December 2018 in Kaunas Emergency Medical Service (EMS), were collected and are reported in accordance with 2014 Utstein recommendations. Results: In total, 842 OHCA cases of EMS treated cardiac arrests were analysed. Return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) at hospital transfer was 26.8% in 2016, 27.7% in 2017, and 30.7% in 2018. Survival to hospital discharge was 8.6% in 2016, 11.9% in 2017, and 12.7% in 2018. Survival to hospital discharge in Utstein comparator group (defined as bystander-witnessed OHCA with an initial shockable rhythm) was 27% in 2016, 31.7% in 2017, and 45.8% in 2018. Conclusions: Survival to hospital discharge in Kaunas (Lithuania) in 2016–2018 were slightly better to those reported as median in EuReCa TWO studyAplinkotyros katedraLietuvos sveikatos mokslų universitetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Проекты ЦИК и ЛУНЗ 2010–2012 г.: путешествие по Шёлковому пути к более безопасному и современному здравоохранению

Подготавливая это издание, мы хотели сами осознать масштаб проделанной за три года работы, поделиться накопленным опытом сотрудничества, оставить для истории страницы о дружбе, взаимопонимании, доверии, стремлении к улучшению здравоохра- нения в наших странах

Проекты ЦИК и ЛУНЗ 2010–2012 г.: путешествие по Шёлковому пути к более безопасному и современному здравоохранению

Подготавливая это издание, мы хотели сами осознать масштаб проделанной за три года работы, поделиться накопленным опытом сотрудничества, оставить для истории страницы о дружбе, взаимопонимании, доверии, стремлении к улучшению здравоохра- нения в наших странах