• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.7-18
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• 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to develop a pre-hospital subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) prediction tool by analyzing the extant predictive factors of patients with non-traumatic SAH who visited the hospital through the 119 emergency medical services. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed pre-hospital care reports (PCRs) and electronic medical records (EMRs) of 103 patients with non-traumatic SAH who were transported to the emergency department of two national hospitals via the 119 emergency medical service from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2020. Variables required to apply the Ottawa SAH Rule and EMERALD SAH Rule, which are early prediction tools for SAH, were extracted and applied. Results: The most common symptoms-which were found in 94.1% and 97.0% of all patients according to PCRs and EMRs, respectively-appeared in the following order: headache, altered state of consciousness, and nausea/vomiting. When the variables used for the EMERALD Rule, namely systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and blood sugar test (BST), were applied, the sensitivities of EMR and PCRs were 99.9% and 92.2%, respectively. Conclusion: For the timely prediction of SAH at the pre-hospital phase, patient age and symptoms should be assessed, and SBP, DBP, and BST should be measured to transport the patient to an appropriate hospital.