Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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The objective of this study was to quantify the amount of direct contact with medical direction that nationally registered emergency medical services (EMS) professionals receive. The secondary objective was to determine whether differences in medical director contact were associated with work-related characteristics. ⋯ It has been suggested that EMS professionals benefit from direct contact with a physician medical director. Nearly one-third of participants in this study reported having limited medical director contact. Certification level, service type, and community size were significantly associated with the amount of contact with medical direction.
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Literature spanning the last two decades has identified potential harm associated with out-of-hospital endotracheal intubation performed by ground paramedics. Previous researchers have reported intubation success rates of 66% to 97% in the air medical setting. ⋯ During the first eight years of operation of this air medical transport system, flight personnel were able to successfully perform endotracheal intubation in 92.1% of cases.
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Influenza vaccination has long been recommended for health care workers, but vaccination rates among this group have been low. Data on emergency medical services (EMS) personnel's vaccination status have not been published. This study compared self-reported vaccination rates and barriers among EMS and emergency department (ED) personnel. ⋯ EMS providers reported low influenza vaccination levels in 2005-2006, even as compared with ED personnel. This failure to receive vaccination poses potential risk to the workers themselves and their patients. Resolution of reported barriers could lead to higher vaccination rates.
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The investigation seeks to determine the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) on the stethoscopes of emergency medical services (EMS) providers. While stethoscopes are known fomites for MRSA, the prevalence of MRSA in the prehospital setting is not well documented in the literature. ⋯ In this ED setting, MRSA was found on approximately one in three stethoscopes of EMS professionals. A longer length of time since the last stethoscope cleaning increased the odds of MRSA colonization.
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This review provides an overview of the validity of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) dispatch criteria for severely injured patients. ⋯ Only 5 studies described HEMS dispatch criteria validity. HEMS dispatch based on consciousness criteria seems promising. MOI criteria lack accuracy and will lead to significant overtriage. The first categories needing revision are MOI and age/comorbidity.