Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40177094›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in public health2025

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on prehospital emergency medical service: a scoping review.

Hannah Richter, Marlieke Schneider, Johanna Eisenberger, Nastaran Jafari, Hannah Haumann, David Häske

Abstract readScoping Review
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Hannah RichterCenter for Public Health and Health Services Research, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Marlieke SchneiderCenter for Quality Management in Emergency Medical Services Baden-Wuerttemberg (SQR-BW), Stuttgart, Germany.
Johanna EisenbergerCenter for Quality Management in Emergency Medical Services Baden-Wuerttemberg (SQR-BW), Stuttgart, Germany.
Nastaran JafariCenter for Public Health and Health Services Research, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Hannah HaumannInstitute for General Medicine and Interprofessional Care, Tübingen University Hospital, Tübingen, Germany.
David HäskeCenter for Public Health and Health Services Research, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on healthcare systems worldwide. Emergency medical services (EMS) frequently served as the sole point of contact for individuals in need of assistance or emergency support. This study aimed to map the impact of the pandemic on emergency calls and EMS operations. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in the electronic databases Pubmed and Web of Science. A hand search supplemented the search. Published articles in English or German dealing with frequencies, diagnoses, and factors influencing emergency calls and EMS use were included. Studies on cardio-pulmonary resuscitation were not included. Results: The initial search yielded 3,359 articles, of which 3,187 were screened by title/abstracts, and 120 full-text articles were analyzed. Fifty articles were then included. Fourteen articles reported the number of emergency calls, 30 on the number of EMS operations, and six on both outcomes. The articles were mostly published in 2020 ( Conclusions: The heterogeneity of the studies is considerable; overall, there appears to have been a decline in emergency calls, particularly EMS operations. Clear patterns, e.g., by region, cannot be identified. Review protocol registration: The review protocol is registered in the Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/8urq9.

Indexed as

COVID-19Emergency Medical ServicesHumansPandemicsSARS-CoV-2coronavirusCOVID-19emergency callsemergency medical servicesemergency medicineemergency operationsEMSSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID40177094
PMCPMC11962900

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.