Characteristics of Emergencies in the Workplace from the Perspective of the Emergency Medical Services: A 4-Year Case-Control Study

Abstract

Introduction: Accidents and emergencies in the workplace account for a significant proportion of emergency calls worldwide. The specificity of these events is often associated with hazards at a given workplace. Patients do not always require hospitalization; therefore, the characteristics of events can only be determined from the perspective of emergency medical services teams. The aim of the study was to analyze calls and the course of emergency ambulance interventions to patients at their workplace. Material and methods: The study was conducted based on a retrospective analysis of data contained in the medical records of the ambulance service from central Poland from 2015–2018. From all interventions (n = 155,993), 1601 calls to work were selected, and the urgency code, time of day and year, patients’ sex, general condition, as well as diagnoses according to the International Classification of Diseases—ICD-10 and the method of ending the call were considered. Results: The mean age of patients in the study group was 42.4 years (SD ± 13.5). The majority were men (n = 918; 57.3%). The number of calls increased in the autumn (n = 457; 28.5%) and in the morning (n = 609; 38.0%). The main reasons for the intervention were illnesses (ICD-10 group: R—‘symptoms’) and injuries (ICD-10 group: S, T—‘injuries’). Calls at workplaces most often ended with the patient being transported to the hospital (78.8%), and least often with his death (0.8%). Conclusions: The patient profile in the workplace indicates middle-aged men who fall ill in the fall, requiring transport to the hospital and further diagnostics.