June 2019
Important metrics to monitor when treating pediatric trauma
When faced with responding to a pediatric trauma call, it is important for you to be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of impending shock and intervene rapidly.
May 2019
Patient assessment scenarios see terminology updates
During our patient assessment scenarios during lab training, every one of us learned to regurgitate scene safety and body substance isolation protocols. But did we really look over the scene? Did we really take the time to determine if we needed to wear more than gloves? The answer to both questions is “unlikely.”
April 2019
How autonomic dysreflexia and hypertension connect
Autonomic dysreflexia is a medical emergency. Hypertension in a patient with a spinal injury is autonomic dysreflexia until proven otherwise. If you can treat the cause quickly, you can prevent some diseases that have high associated morbidity and mortality rates.
March 2019
The long spine board isn’t going away and shouldn’t
I was teaching a class a few months ago and a student said his agency had completely removed long spine boards from service. I was floored. The long spine board is needed for spinal immobilization as well as other emergency uses.
Can you get popcorn lung from vaping? Most likely
There is yet to be a known case of popcorn lung as a result of e-cigarette smoking because vaping is so new. However, there is strong indication that vaping e-juice with diacetyl, pentanedone and acetoin could lead to the condition over time.
Get on board with two-person bag mask ventilation
If you are working for a volunteer department and you are the only person on scene, you clearly have an argument that you don’t have the manpower. If you work for a paid rural service, you do. Let's explore why we need to worry about two-person bag mask ventilation.