Air medical journal
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Air medical journal · Nov 1994
Comparative StudyUse of a pulse oximeter for determination of systolic blood pressure in a helicopter air ambulance.
Traditional methods of determining blood pressure may be unreliable (auscultation or palpation) or unavailable (direct arterial cannulation) in the air medical environment. The authors investigated the combination of a pulse oximeter with a standard sphygmomanometer (blood pressure) cuff as an alternative method. ⋯ The obliteration of the wave form display on a pulse oximeter is an accurate, convenient, inexpensive and readily available alternative method of determining SBP.
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Air medical journal · Nov 1994
Comparative StudyAnalysis of intubations. Before and after establishment of a rapid sequence intubation protocol for air medical use.
After finding the success rate of intubations in our air medical program to be less than optimal (with a success rate of only 73%), a protocol for increased doses of sedatives and neuromuscular blocking (NMB) agents was developed for field use by flight nurses and paramedics. ⋯ Our results suggest that protocols including sedatives and NMB agents can be used safely and effectively by an appropriately trained air medical team of nurses and paramedics and may improve patient care.