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Article: Trivedi TK, Glenn M, Hern G, Schriger DL, Sporer KA. Emergency Medical Services Use Among Patients Receiving Involuntary Psychiatric Holds and the Safety of an Out-of-Hospital Screening Protocol to “Medically Clear” Psychiatric Emergencies in the Field, 2011 to 2016. Ann Emerg Med. 2019;73(1):42-51. Background & Objectives: Due to a nationwide shortage of inpatient psychiatric beds,

Death by Suicide — The EMS Profession Compared to the General Public Vigil NH, Grant AR, Perez O, et al. Death by Suicide-The EMS Profession Compared to the General Public. Prehosp Emerg Care. 2018;:1-6.[PMID: 30136908]   Background & Objectives:  Suicide is a public health crisis with an estimate 45,000 individuals dying from suicide annually. Certain professions,

A Randomized Trial of Epinephrine in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Perkins GD, Ji C, Deakin CD, et al. A Randomized Trial of Epinephrine in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest. N Engl J Med. 2018. [PMID: 30021076] Background & Objectives: Other than early CPR and defibrillation, there are few measures that have been shown to improve outcomes for out-of-hospital

Prehospital Plasma during Air Medical Transport in Trauma Patients at Risk for Hemorrhagic Shock Sperry JL, Guyette FX, Brown JB, et al. Prehospital Plasma during Air Medical Transport in Trauma Patients at Risk for Hemorrhagic Shock. N Engl J Med. 2018;379(4):315-326. [PMID: 30044935] Background & Objectives: Hemorrhagic shock remains the most significant cause of mortality in

by Aaron Farney, MD  Citation Alter, S. M., Haim, E. D., Sullivan, A. H., & Clayton, L. M. (2018). Intubation of prehospital patients with curved laryngoscope blade is more successful than with straight blade. The American journal of emergency medicine.  Background/Rationale There are two direct laryngoscope blades available to EMS: the curved Macintosh and the straight

by Aaron Farney MD  Clinical Scenario  You are called for a 25-year-old male, possible overdose, unknown if breathing.  On arrival, the patient is unresponsive on his bathroom floor.  Family reports they found him on the floor not breathing just prior to calling 911.  They had last seen him well 15 minutes prior.  He has a

Analysis of Out-of-Hospital Pediatric Intubation by an Australian Helicopter Emergency Medical Service.  Burns BJ, Watterson JB, Ware S, Regan L, Reid C. Analysis of Out-of-Hospital Pediatric Intubation by an Australian Helicopter Emergency Medical Service. Ann Emerg Med. 2017;70(6):773-782.e4. [PMID: 28460858] Background & Objectives: Adequate establishment and maintenance of a patent airway is one of the hallmarks of

Clinical Scenario: In June, we posted the following scenario for comment: EMS is called to the scene of a “possible stroke”.  The patient is a 75 yo female who was last known normal at 8 pm the night before when she went to bed with plans to watch TV before going to sleep.  She fell when she

Article: Association of Prehospital Blood Product Transfusion During Medical Evacuation of Combat Casualties in Afghanistan With Acute and 30-Day Survival Shackelford SA, Del junco DJ, Powell-Dunford N, et al. Association of Prehospital Blood Product Transfusion During Medical Evacuation of Combat Casualties in Afghanistan With Acute and 30-Day Survival. JAMA. 2017;318(16):1581-1591. [PMID: 2906742] Background & Objectives:

By Christopher Galton, MD NRP When we start our EMS careers, the path forward seems easy.  You want to run every great call there is to run and you tell yourself that the path to becoming the best paramedic or EMT is through sticking tubes into people, covering up holes in the chest, and driving fast