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Importance: Nontraumatic shock is a challenging clinical condition, presenting urgent and unique demands in the prehospital setting. There is a paucity of data assessing its incidence, etiology, and clinical outcomes. Objective: To assess the incidence, etiology, and clinical outcomes of patients treated by emergency medical services (EMS) with nontraumatic shock using a large population-based sample. Design, Setting, and Participants: This population-based cohort study included consecutive adult patients with shock not related to trauma who received care by EMS between January 1, 2015, and June 30, 2019, in Victoria, Australia. Data were obtained from individually linked ambulance, hospital, and state death index data sets. During the study period there were 2 485 311 cases attended by EMS, of which 16 827 met the study's inclusion criteria for shock. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was 30-day mortality. Secondary outcomes included length of hospital stay, emergency department discharge disposition, rates of coronary angiography and revascularization procedures, and the use of mechanical circulatory support. Results: A total of 12 695 patients were successfully linked, with a mean (SD) age of 65.7 (19.1) years; 6411 (50.5%) were men. The overall population-wide incidence of EMS-treated prehospital shock was 76 (95% CI, 75-77) per 100 000 person-years. An increased incidence was observed in men (79 77-81 per 100 000 person-years), older patients (eg, aged 70-79 years: 177 171-183 per 100 000 person-years), regional locations (outer regional or remote: 100 94-107 per 100 000 person-years), and in areas with increased socioeconomic disadvantage (lowest socioeconomic status quintile: 92 89-95 per 100 000 person-years). Patients with hospital outcome data were stratified into shock etiologies; 3615 (28.5%) had cardiogenic shock: 3998 (31.5%), septic shock; 1457 (11.5%), hypovolemic shock; and 3625 (28.6%), other causes of shock. Nearly one-third of patients (4158 32.8%) were deceased at 30 days. In multivariable analyses, increased age (all etiologies: hazard ratio HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.03-1.04), female sex (cardiogenic shock: HR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.12-1.42), increased initial heart rate (all etiologies: 1.01; 95% CI, 1.00-1.01), prehospital intubation (all etiologies: HR, 3.93; 95% CI, 3.48-4.44), and preexisting comorbidities (eg, chronic kidney disease, all etiologies: HR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.10-1.42) were independently associated with 30-day mortality, while higher socioeconomic status (all etiologies: HR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.94-0.98) and increased initial systolic blood pressure (all etiologies: HR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.99-0.99) were associated with lower risk. Conclusions and Relevance: This population-level cohort study found that EMS-treated nontraumatic shock was a common condition, with a high risk of morbidity and mortality regardless of etiology. It disproportionately affected men, older patients, patients in regional areas, and those with social disadvantage. Further studies are required to assess how current systems of care can be optimized to improve outcomes.
Bloom et al. (Wed,) studied this question.