Air medical journal
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Air medical journal · Jan 2002
Transcranial oximetry as a new monitoring method for HEMS (Helicopter EMS).
Transcranial oximetry (TCO) is a new method to measure continuous changes in brain blood oxygen saturation (rSO2) by using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). To our knowledge, no studies about TCO in air medical transport have been published. ⋯ TCO may play an important role in the development of new monitoring methods for critical patients in air medical transport. Further studies with large sample sizes and patients are necessary to generalize findings.
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Maintaining cricothyrotomy skills is difficult for air medical crewmembers because the procedure is performed infrequently. The purposes of this study were to review our program's experience with cricothyrotomies and use this pilot study to guide an industry-wide study. ⋯ Cricothyrotomy, rarely performed by our flight crews, is successful in 62.5% of cases. These preliminary data suggest current training practices should be re-evaluated. An industrywide survey is planned to determine the optimal training program.
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Air medical journal · Nov 2001
Comparative StudyComparison of air and ground transport of cardiac patients.
To investigate the outcome of cardiac patients transported by helicopter versus ground ambulance ⋯ All of these improved variables relate to salvaged cardiac muscle.