Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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To determine the predictive value of the mechanism-of-injury step of the American College of Surgeons Field Triage Decision Scheme for determining trauma center need. ⋯ Death of another occupant, fall distance, and extrication time were good predictors of trauma center need when a patient did not meet the anatomic or physiologic conditions. Intrusion, ejection, and vehicle deformity were moderate predictors. Key words: wounds and injury; triage; emergency medical services; emergency medical technicians; predictors; mechanism of injury; trauma center.
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Case Reports
Sustained ventricular fibrillation in an alert patient: preserved hemodynamics with a left ventricular assist device.
Emergency medical services (EMS) encountered an alert patient with sustained ventricular fibrillation with preserved hemodynamics via a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). Multiple firings of the patient's implantable defibrillator were the only sign that this patient was experiencing the usually fatal ventricular arrhythmia. Initial attempts at rhythm conversion with amiodarone and 200-J biphasic shocks were unsuccessful. ⋯ These devices are used not only as a bridge to cardiac transplantation, but also as definitive therapy for patients in end-stage cardiac failure. Ventricular fibrillation has been shown to be well tolerated in patients with LVADs, and we discuss a standard of care for these patients. The occurrence of sustained ventricular fibrillation in patients with ventricular assist devices represents a challenging situation for EMS and emergency department providers and one that will be increasingly encountered in the future.
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The National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP) believes that in certain select situations, when it is validated to be safe in the peer-reviewed literature, emergency medical services (EMS) providers should be able to determine necessity of transport. This paper is the official position of the NAEMSP. Key words: EMS; necessity; transport; position statement; NAEMSP.
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Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics serve as primary providers of urgent medical care and are integral components in disaster response. They are at risk for fatal and nonfatal injuries during these activities. ⋯ Emergency medical technicians and paramedics have higher fatal injury rates when compared with all workers. To reduce fatalities, targeted efforts should be made to prevent ground and air transportation incidents. Reducing nonfatal injuries may be accomplished by developing and evaluating interventions to prevent bodily stress and overexertion injuries.
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Prehospital providers are exposed to various infectious disease hazards. Examining specific infectious exposures would be useful in describing their current trends as well as guidance with appropriate protective measures an emergency medical services (EMS) system should consider. ⋯ Trends in our data suggest increasing exposures to viral respiratory illnesses, whereas exposures to needlestick injuries were relatively infrequent. Efforts should continue to focus on proper respiratory protection to include eye protection in order to mitigate these exposure risks.