Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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Comparative Study
Comparison of two packable hemostatic Gauze dressings in a porcine hemorrhage model.
Uncontrolled hemorrhage remains the primary cause of preventable battlefield mortality and a significant cause of domestic civilian mortality. Rapid hemorrhage control is crucial for survival. ChitoGauze and Combat Gauze are commercially available products marketed for rapid hemorrhage control. These products were selected because they are packable gauze that work via differing mechanisms of action (tissue adhesion versus procoagulant). ⋯ ChitoGauze and Combat Gauze appear to be equally efficacious in their hemostatic properties, as demonstrated in a porcine hemorrhage model.
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The National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP) believes that emergency medical services (EMS) providers should be able to utilize evidence-guided methodology for the termination of resuscitation in nontraumatic cardiopulmonary arrest. This is the official position of the NAEMSP. Key words: termination of resuscitation; cardiopulmonary arrest; nontraumatic; EMS; position statement; NAEMSP.
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Few systems worldwide have achieved the benchmark time of less than 90 minutes from emergency medical services (EMS) contact to balloon inflation (E2B) for patients sustaining ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). We describe a successful EMS systems approach using a combination of paramedic and 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) software interpretation to activate a STEMI bypass protocol. ⋯ The proportion of patients with E2B times less than 90 minutes significantly improved through the implementation of a paramedic-activated STEMI bypass protocol. Further study is required to determine whether these benefits are reproducible in other EMS systems.