JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The prevalence of the main respiratory diseases treated in a prehospital environment in the pre-pandemic period and during the COVID-19 pandemic is unknown. The prehospital Emergency Medical Service (EMS) of the Madrid Community is a public service that serves all types of population; and represents an epidemiological reference for supporting a population of 6.4 million inhabitants.

Objective:

Determine the prevalence and cost of respiratory diseases most frequently treated in prehospital EMS on the Madrid Community from 2014 to 2020.

Methods:

A multicentre descriptive study was carried out in the Madrid Community EMS. The anonymized medical records of patients treated with Medical Advanced Life Support (ALS) who had any of the following medical diagnoses were extracted: acute respiratory failure (ARF) not related to chronic respiratory disease, ARF in chronic respiratory failure, exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (ECOPD), acute pulmonary oedema (APO), congestive heart failure and bronchospasm (not from asthma or COPD). The prevalence of each pathology and its evolution from 2014 to 2020, and the direct economic impact of the ALS were analysed.

Results:

The study included 96.221 patients. The most common pathology was ECOPD, with a prevalence of 0.07% in 2014, which decreased to 0.03% in 2020. Congestive Heart Failure followed, at 0.06% in 2014 and 0.03% in 2020. APO had a prevalence of 0.01% in 2014, decreasing to 0.005% in 2020 with the pandemic. The greatest economic impact was on ECOPD in 2015, with an annual cost of 2.726.893 Euros.

Conclusions:

ECOPD had a higher prevalence in the Madrid region than the other respiratory diseases studied. In 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence and costs of almost all these diseases decreased, except for ARF not related to chronic disease. The estimated cost of these pathologies over five years was 58.791.031 euros.