EMS Perspectives: An OpEd Page on the History and Future of EMS By Clayton Kazan, MD, MS, FACEP, FAEMS So we are about 54 years into the pilot project that is EMS and paramedicine. That we would even exist, much less thrive, years later, was viewed by many as highly improbable at the time. The …
Article by Erin Lincoln, MD Case Scenario: You are dispatched to a 68-year-old male in cardiac arrest. His family has been performing bystander, and report that he suddenly collapsed just a few minutes ago. CPR is taken over by responding crews, and he is placed on a cardiac monitor/defibrillator. He is found to be in …
Article Summary by Robert Skinner, MD Knapp, J., Haeske, D., Boettiger, B. W., Limacher, A., Stalder, O., Schmid, A., … & Bernhard, M. (2019). Influence of prehospital physician presence on survival after severe trauma: systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 87(4), 978-989. Background: The leading cause of death in the …
By Tiffany Pleasent, MD Case Review A 64-year-old female calls 911 for severe shortness of breath and chest pain. An ALS crew arrives on scene to find a woman who is tachypneic, hypoxic, tachycardic, and hypotensive, with diffuse rales and rhonchi throughout her lung fields. She becomes altered and severely hypoxic. The attending paramedics begin …
Why should quality improvement concepts be integrated into EMS education? Read More »
By Nicholas Maxwell, MD Case: You are bringing an elderly male with a DNR back to a living facility from a hospital. Approximately 10 miles away from the hospital, the patient suddenly decompensates. His pulse ox drops from 94% to 87% and his heart rate increased from about 110 beats per minute to approximately 180. …
Palliative and Hospice Care in the Prehospital Setting Read More »
EMS Perspectives: An OpEd Page on the History and Future of EMS Authors: David Wright, PA-C, NRP, FAEMS; Kate Randolph, PA-S; Kim King, FNP Introduction Mental health and wellness are on the forefront of everyone\’s minds these days, and the past few years have been an exceptionally challenging time for healthcare workers around the world. …
Article Summary by James Li, MD Sinclair, Julie E., et al. “Characteristics, prehospital management, and outcomes in patients assessed for hypoglycemia: repeat access to prehospital or emergency care.” Prehospital Emergency Care 23.3 (2019): 364-376. Background: Diabetes is a common chronic medical condition. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention report a total of 37.3 million …
By A.J. Meyer MD Clinical Scenario You are dispatched to a 57-year-old male with a witnessed cardiac arrest and bystander CPR being performed. On arrival to the scene, you find the patient pulseless and apneic. Your Fire Department colleagues take control of the airway and begin ventilating the patient with a BVM and perform high …
IV versus IO: Does your Site of Access Matter in Cardiac Arrest? Read More »
Article Summary by: Charles Hwang, MD, FAEMS, FACEP Article: Braude D, Steuerwald M, Wray T, Galgon R. Managing the Out-of-Hospital Extraglottic Airway Device. Ann Emerg Med. 2019 Sep;74(3):416-422. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2019.03.002. Epub 2019 May 3. Background Extraglottic airway devices (commonly referred to as supraglottic airway [SGA] devices) play an integral role in the prehospital airway algorithm …
Article Bites #44: Managing the Out-of-Hospital Extraglottic Airway Device Read More »
Article Bites Summary by Kristopher Bianconi, MD Hoyle Jr, J. D., Ekblad, G., Hover, T., Woodwyk, A., Brandt, R., Fales, B., & Lammers, R. L. (2019). Dosing errors made by paramedics during pediatric patient simulations after implementation of a state-wide pediatric drug dosing reference. Prehospital Emergency Care. Background The administration of medications to pediatric patients …
