The Journal of air medical transport
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The Connecticut helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) has responded to 12 mass casualty incidents (MCI) in two years. Eight were drills and four were actual events. An MCI response plan was instituted prior to the onset of the HEMS program. ⋯ The roles of the HEMS in each MCI were: triage (n = 4), medical treatment (n = 4), transport (n = 3), augmented response (n = 1), and air surveillance (n = 0). The roles of HEMS response to MCI should be well-defined prior to an event. Air medical benefits include response within a large geographic area, highest level of prehospital medical care, identification of trauma receiving hospitals, and facilitation of transport.
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Endotracheal intubation is a lifesaving technique performed by flight crews often under difficult circumstances. Inadvertent unrecognized esophageal intubation is reported to occur up to 8% of the time. Recently a new disposable device has been developed to assist in determining proper endotracheal tube placement. ⋯ Specificity was calculated as 100%. The overall positive predictive value of the FEF detector was 100%. We therefore conclude that indication of a tracheal intubation by the FEF detector is reliable after six breaths in the aeromedical setting and advocate its use as an adjunct for monitoring tube position while in flight.