Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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1) To perform a statewide analysis of the frequency of major pediatric trauma cases and the use of resuscitation skills by paramedics (EMT-Ps). 2) To determine whether EMT-Ps use resuscitation skills less frequently for injured children than for older patients. ⋯ EMT-Ps infrequently manage seriously injured children. i.v.s are less frequently placed in pediatric trauma patients, even in the setting of physiologic abnormalities. The contributions of these field procedures to patient outcomes should be evaluated further.
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To determine whether the presence of an on-scene medical control physician (OSMCP) alters the management and outcome of out-of-hospital nontraumatic, nonasystolic cardiac arrest (CA) patients. ⋯ Out-of-hospital CA patients treated in the OSMCP group had a trend toward more frequent ROSC upon ED arrival and a higher rate of survival to hospital discharge. The OSMCP group patients received medications at nearly twice the rate of the PO group patients. Although a larger trial is needed, more frequent dosing of drugs during CA may have contributed to increased survival in the OSMCP group.