Air medical journal
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Air medical journal · Mar 2013
Clinical TrialSupraglottic airway device use as a primary airway during rapid sequence intubation.
This study compared first-attempt placement success rates of the King LTS-D as a primary airway for patients requiring medication-assisted airway management (MAAM) against historical controls. ⋯ Success rates with the King LTS-D were not significantly different from historical control ETI data. Time to placement was comparable to previous reports.
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Air medical journal · Mar 2013
Helicopter emergency medical services crew administration of antibiotics for open fractures.
This study had 3 major aims: (1) to ascertain the degree to which helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) administration of antibiotics (Abx) can streamline the time to Abx in open fracture patients, (2) to determine whether any clinical outcome improvements were associated with HEMS Abx therapy, and (3) to calculate the cost-effectiveness of prehospital HEMS Abx. The design of the study was a prospective, nonrandomized, nonintervention, natural study of timing and clinical outcomes for patients with suspected open extremity fracture. There were 138 scene trauma cases transported by 8 participating HEMS programs from July 2009 to June 2010. ⋯ The time from the incident to Abx was 30 minutes shorter (P = .0001) when Abx were administered by HEMS crews. There was no statistical significance (P = 1.0) regarding the endpoint of infection or nonunion development in HEMS- versus hospital-administered Abx. In conclusion, the administration of Abx by HEMS crews to patients diagnosed with open extremity fractures is feasible, it may decrease the time to Abx by 30 minutes, and the effect magnitude (40.3% relative risk reduction) was promising.
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Air medical journal · Mar 2013
The Airtraq Optical Laryngoscope in helicopter emergency medical services: a pilot trial.
To determine the degree of success helicopter emergency medical services personnel have in placing an endotracheal tube using a relatively new device for endotracheal intubation (ETI) known as the Airtraq (AT) Optical Laryngoscope (King Systems Corp, Noblesville, IN), and to determine the frequency with which flight crews had to resort to other means for advanced airway management. ⋯ HEMS crews had difficulty placing successful ET tubes with this device after minimal education with a single regular-sized device. Difficulty was pronounced when blood or vomit was present and obstructing the optical view. Further study is needed to evaluate the implementation time, training time required, and possible design advantages of the AT compared with those of traditional emergent airway management techniques.
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Air medical journal · Mar 2013
Development of an educational program for the helicopter emergency medical services in Japan.
The Japanese helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) system provides advanced prehospital treatment at the scene. The education of the dispatched HEMS physicians is important for guaranteeing the quality of medical and safety management, but there is no nationally established training program. This study aimed to determine the validity of the HEMS educational program developed by our team. ⋯ The finding that scene time was shortened for program trainees demonstrates the validity of our HEMS educational program. The quality of HEMS missions will be better ensured through this educational system.