Prehospital and disaster medicine
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Jul 2007
Police officer response to the injured officer: a survey-based analysis of medical care decisions.
No widely accepted, specialized medical training exists for police officers confronted with medical emergencies while under conditions of active threat. The purpose of this study was to assess medical decision-making capabilities of law enforcement personnel under these circumstances. ⋯ Tactical medical decision-making capability, as assessed through the nine scenarios, was sub-optimal. In this post 9/11 era, development of law enforcement-specific medical training appears appropriate.
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Jul 2007
Staff procedure skills in management groups during exercises in disaster medicine.
In stressful situations such as the management of major incidents and disasters, the ability to work in a structured way is important. Medical management groups initially are formed by personnel from different operations that are on-call when the incident or disaster occurs. ⋯ Staff procedure skills can be measured during simulations exercises. A logging system may lead to enhancing areas requiring improvement.
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Jul 2007
Mission failure: emergency medical services response to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive events.
Only 4% of the United States Homeland Security funding for public safety terrorism preparedness is allotted to emergency medical services (EMS), despite the primary threat from a mass-terrorism chemical weapons attack (MTCWA) being personal injury. This study examines the preparedness of the EMS to respond to, treat, and transport victims of such attacks. ⋯ Results indicate that EMS responders are not prepared to safely respond to MTCWAs, which may result in a significant loss of life of victims and responders.
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Prehosp Disaster Med · May 2007
Precision and reliability of the Glasgow Coma Scale score among a cohort of Latin American prehospital emergency care providers.
The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is the standard measure used to quantify the level of consciousness in patients with head injuries. Rapid and accurate GCS scoring is essential for adequate assessment and treatment of critically sick and injured patients. This study sought out to determine the precision and reliability of the GCS among a cohort of Latin American Critical Care Transport Providers. ⋯ This study demonstrated a poor precision and poor reliability in the use of the Glasgow Coma Scale within the study subjects.
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Prehosp Disaster Med · May 2007
Distribution of casualties in a mass-casualty incident with three local hospitals in the periphery of a densely populated area: lessons learned from the medical management of a terrorist attack.
A mass-casualty incident (MCI) can occur in the periphery of a densely populated area, away from a metropolitan area. In such circumstances, the medical management of the casualties is expected to be difficult because the nearest hospital and the emergency medical services (EMS), only can offer limited resources. When coping with these types of events (i.e., limited medical capability in the nearby medical facilities), a quick response time and rational triage can have a great impact on the outcome of the victims. The objective of this study was to identify the lessons learned from the medical response to a terrorist attack that occurred on 05 December 2005, in Netanya, a small Israeli city. ⋯ The distribution of casualties from the scene plays a vital role in the management of a MCI that occurs in the outskirts of a densely populated area. Non-urgent patients should be referred to a hospital close to the scene of the event, but not the closest hospital. The nearest hospital should be prepared to treat urgent casualties, as well as a large number of self-evacuated patients.