Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Measuring the Effect of Audio Instructions on the Time and Effectiveness of Tourniquet Application by Laypeople.
The "Stop the Bleed" campaign was created to educate laypeople about bleeding control and make bleeding control kits available in public locations. Unfortunately, previous research has indicated that up to half of all laypeople cannot effectively apply a tourniquet. The purpose of this study was to determine if laypeople could apply tourniquets more effectively with just-in-time training using combined audio-written instructions versus written-only instructions. ⋯ This study suggests that combined audio-written instructions decrease the rate of ineffective tourniquet application by laypeople compared with written-only instructions. Further studies are needed to assess if audio instructions and just-in-time training can further maximize effective tourniquet application.
-
Introduction: Respiratory distress accounts for approximately 14% of all pediatric emergency medical services (EMS) encounters, with asthma being the most common diagnosis. In the emergency department (ED), early administration of systemic corticosteroids decreases hospital admission and speeds resolution of symptoms. For children treated by EMS, there is an opportunity for earlier corticosteroid administration. ⋯ Facilitators included friendly competition with colleagues, having a pediatric medical director, and feedback from receiving EDs on patient outcomes. Conclusion: This qualitative focus group study of OCS implementation by EMS clinicians for the treatment of pediatric asthma found many barriers and facilitators that mapped to the structure of EMS agencies and characteristics of individual EMS clinicians. To fully implement this evidence-based intervention for pediatric asthma, more education on the intervention is required, and EMS clinicians will benefit from further pediatric training.
-
Metabolic syndrome is a constellation of risk factors associated with the development of cardiovascular disease and increased all-cause mortality. Data examining the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians are limited. ⋯ EMS clinicians had a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome at an early age, and had a higher adjusted odds of having metabolic syndrome compared to firefighters.