Document is current

Article History

Received: 20 December 2024

Accepted: 19 March 2025

First Online: 12 April 2025

Declarations

:

: The study site is a non-profit organization operating under the Department of Health, Sindh, Pakistan. This EMS organization routinely records patient information as part of its regular activities and documentation processes. For every critical case requiring ambulance transport for a medical emergency, the on-duty staff obtains consent from the patient’s attendant, acknowledging the risks associated with the transfer, for which the attendant or patient assumes responsibility. This is also a part of routine activity approved by authorities and not specific to any research. For this study, we conducted a retrospective analysis using anonymized organizational records provided by the EMS organization’s Data Unit. The study involved no direct patient contact or identification, so tracking patients for consent was not feasible. Therefore, we obtained an exemption from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Sindh Institute of Child Health and Neonatology (SICHN) to conduct a retrospective analysis under IRB ID: IRB ID SICHN/EX-014/2024.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.