Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
The utility of traditional prehospital interventions in maintaining thermostasis.
Hypothermia can have a negative effect on the metabolic and hemostatic functions of patients with traumatic injuries. Multiple methods of rewarming are currently used in the prehospital arena, but little objective evidence for their effectiveness in this setting exists. The purpose of this study was to assess the relative effectiveness of traditional prehospital measures in maintaining thermostasis in trauma patients. ⋯ Most traditional methods of maintaining trauma patient temperature during prehospital transport appear to be inadequate. Aggressive use of hot packs, a simple, inexpensive intervention to maintain thermostasis, deserves further study as a potential basic intervention for trauma patients.
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To determine whether a course in emergency medical services (EMS) impacts on the perceived ability of medical students to render care in emergencies such as choking and cardiac arrest, and affects their choice of emergency medicine as a career. ⋯ A course in EMS has significant impact on the perceived ability and career choice of medical students. Further study of an EMS curriculum design is needed to determine what information is critical to medical students' education and valuable in their career choice decisions.
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Comparative Study
Comparison of forearm and upper arm blood pressures.
In the prehospital setting it is not always feasible to obtain blood pressure (BP) readings from the upper arm. This study was performed to compare BPs obtained from subjects' forearms and upper arms in order to assess the utility of forearm BP as a surrogate for standard BP. ⋯ Forearm BP is a fairly good predictor of standard upper arm BP in most patients. Forearm BP may be used when measurement of upper arm BP is not feasible.
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To investigate the effect of adding a ground critical care ambulance service on the utilization of the pre-existing helicopter air ambulance. ⋯ The attempt to decrease the demand for a helicopter air ambulance by initiating a parallel ground ambulance service was not successful. Programs adding a ground critical care ambulance to existing helicopter services should not expect a decrease in utilization of the helicopter. These services should be viewed as complementary but not interchangeable.
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To determine whether EMS educational programs in North Carolina adequately prepare paramedics, and whether there is additional value to an associate of applied science (AAS) degree education in EMS when compared with traditional certificate training programs. ⋯ While administrators and paramedics believe the current EMS educational programs in North Carolina adequately prepare students to function as paramedics, there are identifiable areas that require additional emphasis. There appears to be additional value to an AAS education when compared with traditional certificate EMS educational programs.