Univariate analysis of factors associated with a severe airway management error*
| Characteristic | OR | 95% CI | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patient characteristic | |||
| Age† | <0.001 | ||
| 0–28 days | 6.62 | 1.68 to 26.0 | |
| 29 days–11 months | 5.73 | 1.91 to 17.2 | |
| 1–5 years | 1.07 | 0.33 to 3.47 | |
| 6–11 years | 1.65 | 0.46 to 5.99 | |
| 12–17 years (reference category) | 1 | – | – |
| Gender‡,§ | 0.51 | ||
| Male | 0.79 | 0.39 to 1.60 | |
| Call characteristic | |||
| Reason for dispatch†,¶ | <0.001 | ||
| Trauma (reference category) | 1 | – | – |
| Seizure or ALOC | 0.14 | 0.02 to 1.12 | |
| Respiratory distress | 1.4 | 0.47 to 4.16 | |
| Cardiorespiratory arrest | 15.61 | 5.65 to 43.1 | |
| Other (including birth/delivery) | 0.95 | 0.05 to 18.5 | |
| Fire department involvement§ | 0.006 | ||
| Fire chart | 2.75 | 1.30 to 5.82 | |
| Call during the night§ | 0.032 | ||
| (22:00–8:00) | 2.21 | 1.05 to 4.62 | |
| Scene time** | |||
| (per 1 min increase) | 1.03 | 0.99 to 1.07 | 0.14 |
| Transportation time | |||
| (per 1 min increase) | 0.96 | 0.91 to 1.01 | 0.10 |
*Three hundred and thirty-eight observations (338 out of 490 charts reviewed; airway error information not available for 152 charts).
†ORs and CIs calculated from 2×2 tables of each category against the reference category. Reported p value from a Fisher's exact test performed on all categories. Cramer's V was found to be >0.20 from analysis of a table of age group and severe airway management error that included four age groups (0 days–11 months, 1–5, 6–11 and 12–17 years) so that the expected value for each cell in the table was >5.
‡Three hundred and thirty-six observations (gender not available for two charts).
§ORs and CIs calculated from 2×2 tables. Reported p value from a χ2 test on the 2×2 table; −0.20<φ<0.20.
¶ORs and CIs calculated from 2×2 tables of each category against the reference category, except for any categories for which the 2×2 table contained a zero cell. Reported p value from a Fisher's exact test performed on all categories. Cramer's V was found to be >0.20 from analysis of a table of reason for dispatch and severe airway management error that included three of the categories of reason for dispatch (trauma, cardiac arrest and respiratory distress) so that the expected value for each cell in the table was >5.
**Three hundred and thirty-seven observations (scene time not available for one chart).
ALOC, altered level of consciousness.