Retrospective Study of Patients Transported to Hospital by Ambulance Due to Fever

INTRODUCTION: The rates of EMS use due to fever and the characteristics of these patients have not been clearly evaluated in the literature. The aim of this study is to evaluate the demographic characteristics of patients who requested an ambulance with complaints of fever.
METHODS: Our study was conducted by retrospectively examining the data of patients over the age of 18 who requested an ambulance from Ankara EMS with complaints of fever between 01.01.2022 and 31.12.2022 and whose fever was detected as ≥38 °C by the ambulance teams.
RESULTS: Between 01.01.2022 and 31.12.2022, a total of 5430 (1.07%) people called Ankara EMS with complaints of fever and requested an ambulance, and 1874 (34.5%) were found to have a fever of ≥38 °C. Of these patients with fever, 61.1% were male, and their mean age was 63.4±21.5. The patients’ vital signs were as follows: fever levels=39(38–40) °C, systolic blood pressure=127.6±24.5 mmHg, and diastolic blood pressure=74.9±13.8 mmHg. Pulse and respiratory rates were 98 (18–146)/min and 18 (10–32)/min, respectively. While 20.1% of the patients had COVID-19, 7.4% had asthma-COPD, 6.4% had gastroenteritis, and 4.0% had upper respiratory tract infection.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In our study, most of the patients (65.5%) who requested an ambulance with a fever complaint had no fever detected at the scene by the ambulance team.