Articles: emergency-medical-services.
-
The major objective of this research project was to apply the scientific discipline of decision-making to the problem of identifying the appropriate receiving hospital for persons injured in accidents. This problem, which is usually referred to as the prehospital triage process, is enormously important in terms of maximizing the critically injured patient's chances for survival. The long term objective of this research program, for which this project was a pilot study, is to develop an interactive computer system to support decisions regarding triage of patients at the scene of medical emergencies. The completed system will offer guidance to the paramedic in deciding whether to transport the emergency victim to the nearest hospital for stabilization and further evaluation or directly to the hospital best equipped to deal with the specific conditions of the victim.
-
Historical Article
The conceptual development of EMS systems in the United States, Part I.
-
Pediatric triage algorithms which were prospectively and retrospectively validated in a pediatric acute care facility serve as the basis for the development of a simplified pediatric triage checklist. This checklist is used by minimally trained nonprofessionals to assign safely the care urgency categories of the chief complaints of pediatric "walk-in" patients. This article describes the background of the pediatric triage checklist and its adaptation to a computerized triage system. This system not only allows for safe triage, but also creates a mechanism for rapid, organized retrieval of data from individual and group patient triage encounters that is useful for the study and planning of health care delivery.
-
Long term survival after a near drowning accident depends directly on the quality and persistence of the immediate resuscitation attempts. This applies especially to young children.