Articles: emergency-medical-services.
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Advanced Trauma Life Support requires surgical airway techniques to be used in patients when oral or nasal intubation is impossible or contraindicated. Few reports have examined the results of surgical cricothyroidotomy in prehospital trauma management. During a 12-month period, 600 patients were seen and treated by the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service medical team. ⋯ Three patient later died in hospital and four (37 per cent) survived. Three of the survivors made a good recovery, including one who was in cardiorespiratory arrest at the scene, and one remains severely disabled. Surgical cricothyroidotomy is a life-saving procedure in prehospital trauma management that must be performed without delay or hesitation if conventional airway manoeuvres are impossible or fail.
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It is evident that AEDs may be used by minimally trained first responders to terminate VF safely and rapidly in victims of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. To enhance patient survival of out-of-hospital VF, there must be coordination between AED-trained first responders and ACLS providers.
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Apr 1993
Comparative StudyComplication rates for the esophageal obturator airway and endotracheal tube in the prehospital setting.
The purpose of this study was to determine the complication rates associated with the use of the endotracheal tube (ET) and the use of the esophageal obturator airway/esophageal gastric tube airway (EOA/EGTA) during the treatment of patients with prehospital cardiac arrest. ⋯ The complication rate for the EOA/EGTA is unacceptably high, and careful thought must be given to its continued use.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)