Multiple Patient Factors Linked to EMS Pediatric Care Quality

MONDAY, Nov. 17, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Multiple patient factors, including age, are associated with emergency medical services (EMS) pediatric care quality, according to a study published online Nov. 10 in Pediatrics.

Caleb E. Ward, M.B., B.Chir., M.P.H., from The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C., and colleagues examined agency and patient demographic factors associated with improved performance of EMS. Care for children with a ground scene-level response was evaluated using the 2020 to 2023 National EMS Information System (NEMSIS) datasets. Outcomes were identified based on the NEMSIS Prehospital Pediatric Quality Measures Dashboard. The association of agency- and patient-level factors with high performance on each performance measure was evaluated using mixed-effects logistic models.

A total of 2,739,756 encounters were identified. The researchers found that the proportion of cases achieving the performance measure varied from 22.5 to 85.2 percent for improvement in pain for children with trauma reporting pain and for documentation of vital signs for children with trauma, respectively. For most measures, older age was associated with higher performance. Compared with White children, Black and Hispanic and Latino children with trauma were less likely to have an improvement in pain (adjusted odds ratios, 0.84 and 0.89, respectively); however, they were more likely to receive epinephrine for anaphylaxis (adjusted odds ratios, 1.50 and 1.32, respectively). Over time, there was improved performance for four measures. No consistent association was seen for most agency-level factors with quality of care.

“Further research is needed to determine whether these differences are associated with patient outcomes and to develop strategies to reduce unwarranted variability in prehospital pediatric care,” the authors write.

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