Abstract

Introduction
Suspected convulsions are a common reason for emergency calls to ambulance services. Prehospital care is a key element of good quality care for these patients and is a key determinant of downstream health service activity but there has been little previous research in this area. Convulsions result in a large number of emergency calls to ambulance services; the majority of these patients are conveyed to emergency departments (ED), which accounts for most of the health service costs for this condition.

Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of retrospective electronic clinical data for patients with suspected convulsions over a one year period. Our aims were firstly to generate descriptive statistics (including incidence) for patients over the age of 18 years treated by East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EMAS) for convulsions over a period of a year, and secondly to use regression analysis to identify predictors of transport to hospital in this sample.

Results & Conclusion
There were 6208 patients with chief complaint recorded as suspected convulsion of which 3218 (54.4%) were men and 2697 (45.6%) women. Suspected convulsions are the sixth commonest reason for emergency calls to EMAS. Results of the regression analysis of predictors of transport are presented.