Annals of emergency medicine
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Emergency department handling and treatment of chemically contaminated patients can have potentially serious consequences. Medical staff can be exposed to hazardous chemicals through dermal contact or inhalation of volatile compounds or particulate matter. ⋯ The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations standards and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations for participation in community hazardous materials incident emergency response plans require hospital EDs to prepare for hazardous materials incidents. This study provides a template protocol for ED preparation for and treatment of patients exposed to hazardous materials.
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Disaster events have always been a fact of life. Success or failure of a disaster response is often determined by timely access to communication and reliable information. The rapid progress and future course in telecommunications indicate that lack of communications need no longer be the paralyzing factor in a disaster scenario. ⋯ This article explores various telecommunications tools that can enhance medical response in a disaster and includes those associated with telemedicine (providing medical care from a distance through telecommunications). Disaster telemedicine systems need not be special or sophisticated-the challenge is to match the right systems with a given disaster plan or scenario. A brief history of telemedicine use for disaster relief and humanitarian assistance is presented together with a discussion of advantages, disadvantages, and near-future potential of telecommunication systems to gain a better perspective of which tools might best fit disaster medicine needs today and into the new millennium.
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The threat of exposure to chemical warfare agents has traditionally been considered a military issue. Several recent events have demonstrated that civilians may also be exposed to these agents. ⋯ The resources of US communities to respond to chemical incidents have been designed primarily for industrial agents, but must be expanded and developed regarding incident management, agent detection, protection of emergency personnel, and clinical care. We present an overview of the risk that chemical warfare agents presently pose to civilian populations and a discussion of the emergency medical and emergency public health issues related to preparedness and response.
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The Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) course is sponsored by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma. This course was developed to provide a consistent method of care for the resuscitation and evaluation of the injured patient. The ATLS course provides an easily remembered method for evaluating and treating the victim of a traumatic event. ⋯ The changes recently introduced in the sixth edition of the ATLS course are highlighted. The worldwide growth of ATLS is acknowledged. The strength of this educational course remains the commitment to our primary goal of optimal care for the injured patient.