Air medical journal
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Air medical journal · Mar 2002
A phenomenologic study of flight nurses' clinical decision-making in emergency situations.
This article describes a phenomenologic study of Western Australian flight nurses' clinical decision-making in emergency situations in which they were the sole health professional. ⋯ The findings address the paucity of knowledge of the phenomenon of clinical decision-making in this context of flight nursing practice.
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Detecting end-tidal pressure of carbon dioxide (PetCO2) is becoming increasingly common in the emergency transport setting. Several CO2 detection devices are suitable for emergency transport, including colorimetry, capnometry, and capnography. ⋯ End-tidal PCO2 is best used for verifying endotracheal and nasal gastric tube placement and assessing the effectiveness of CPR. The use of capnography as a means of guiding manual or mechanical ventilatory therapy is unreliable in unstable, critically ill, or injured patients.