Acute cardiac care & resuscitationCohort study
Emergency medical technician vs. paramedic-placed supraglottic airways for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests
- retrospectively studied the 2019-2023 NEMSIS database
- mixed-model logistic regression
- Cochran-Armitage tests
Authors' conclusion
The proportion of SGAs placed by EMTs and the proportion of EMS agencies with EMT-placed SGAs have increased over time. The FPS rate was similar between EMT and paramedic-placed SGAs.
Study context
- Population
- Adult OHCAs with supraglottic airways (SGA) insertion on first airway attempt, 2019–2023 NEMSIS databaseOHCAs with SGA placement · emergency medical technicians (EMTs) 41,035 · paramedics 148,272
- Participants
- 189,307 ohcas
- Exposure
- EMT-placed SGAs compared to paramedics
- EMTsn = 41,035
- paramedicsn = 148,272reference
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
SGA placement by provider
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | EMTs | paramedics | aOR (CI) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-pass success (SGA) · slightly lower for EMTs | 93.7% | 94.3% | 0.93 (0.89–0.98) | |
| 0.512Adjusted odds ratio (log scale) |
EMT placed SGAs over time · 2019 to 2023
- 2019
- 3140 (20.6%)
- 2023
- 10,371 (23.3%)
- trend
- P < 0.01
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies with EMT-placed SGAs · 2019 to 2023
- 2019
- 664 (38.0%)
- 2023
- 1525 (51.7%)
Regions with highest proportions of EMT placed SGAs
- West North Central
- 38.9%
- East North Central
- 31.4%
- Mountain
- 25.0%
Original publication
Emergency medical technician vs. paramedic-placed supraglottic airways for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. Resuscitation. Published 9 March 2026. doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2026.110998
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it