Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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Emergency medical triage is crucial for prioritizing patient care in emergency situations, yet its effectiveness can vary significantly based on the experience and training of the personnel involved. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of integrating Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) with Large Language Models (LLMs), specifically OpenAI's GPT models, to standardize triage procedures and reduce variability in emergency care. ⋯ The integration of RAG with LLMs shows promise in improving the accuracy and consistency of medical assessments in emergency settings. Further validation in diverse medical settings with broader datasets is necessary to confirm the effectiveness and adaptability of these technologies in live environments.
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The management of gastrointestinal (GI) hemorrhage in a prehospital setting presents significant challenges, particularly in arresting the hemorrhage and initiating resuscitation. This case report introduces a novel instance of prehospital whole blood transfusion to an 8-year-old male with severe lower GI hemorrhage, marking a shift in prehospital pediatric care. The patient, with no previous significant medical history, presented with acute rectal bleeding, severe hypotension (systolic/diastolic blood pressure [BP] 50/30 mmHg), and tachycardia (148 bpm). ⋯ Upon hospital admission, a Meckel's diverticulum was identified as the bleeding source, and it was successfully surgically resected. The patient's recovery was ultimately favorable, highlighting the importance of rapid, prehospital intervention and the potential role of whole blood transfusion in managing acute pediatric GI hemorrhage. This case supports the notion of advancing EMS protocols to include interventions historically reserved for the hospital setting that may significantly impact patient outcomes from the field.
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Objectives: Cognitive load refers to the working memory resources required during a task. When the load is too high or too low this has implications for an individual's task performance. In the context of paramedicine and emergency medical services (EMS) broadly, high cognitive load could potentially put patient and personnel safety at risk. ⋯ Cognitive load influences clinical task performance and has a bi-directional relationship with emotion. However, the literature is mixed regarding physiological responses to cognitive load, and how they are best measured. These findings highlight potential intervention points where cognitive load can be managed or reduced to improve working conditions for EMS clinicians and safety for their patients.
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With the establishment and growth of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) subspecialty, significant attention has been focused on clinical activities performed by EMS physicians in the out-of-hospital environment. An EMS fellowship includes special operations education to develop preparedness for responding to field situations requiring physician expertise. With only a thousand Board Certified EMS physicians in North America, EMS physicians may not be available 24 h per day to respond to field emergencies. ⋯ The Los Angeles County EMS Agency implemented a policy in 1992 to establish Hospital Emergency Response Teams (HERT) as a regional resource to provide time-critical, specialized prehospital services within an EMS system. Activation of the HERT is rare, most frequently prompted by need for field amputation to enable extrication. We describe one such incident of a field intervention by HERT and detail the staffing, training, and equipment considerations within our large regional EMS system.
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An important method employed to reduce door to balloon time (DTBT) for ST segment elevation Myocardial Infarctions (STEMIs) is a prehospital MI alert. The purpose of this retrospective study was to examine the effects of an educational intervention using a novel decision support method of STEMI notification and prehospital electrocardiogram (ECG) transmission on DTBT. ⋯ Introduction of a decision support tool with prehospital ECG transmission with prehospital ECG transmission decreased overall DTBT by 20 min (27.5%). Women in the study had a 17-minute decrease in DTBT (22%), but their DTBT remained 12.2% longer than men for reasons that remain unclear.