ABSTRACT
This descriptive paper focuses on the sequence of events that occur during the admission and ongoing management of the Military Polytrauma patient to Critical Care, Area B, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB). It is intended to inform new clinical staff, the wider DMS, and potentially other NHS intensive care units which may be called upon to manage such patients during a military surge or following a U.K. domestic major incident.
Subject(s)
Critical Care/methods , Multiple Trauma/therapy , Analgesia/methods , Blood Coagulation Disorders/prevention & control , Blood Component Transfusion , Family , Fever/therapy , Humans , Infection Control/methods , Malaria/prevention & control , Nutrition Disorders/prevention & control , Patient Admission , United KingdomABSTRACT
Ten nurses with basic airway management experience were formally trained to use a classic laryngeal mask airway (LMA) and a Laerdal Pocket Facemask (LPFM) for oxygen enriched expired air ventilation (EEAV). They then used both of these devices for EEAV in a randomised fashion in 100 anaesthetised ASA I/II patients for elective surgery. EEAV was considered successful if the patient's arterial oxygen saturation was maintained above 93% on room air for 3 min. EEAV success rates for the LMA and LPFM were 95% and 51% respectively (P=0.03). There was no apparent learning curve for either apparatus. Mean time in seconds (s) for first successful ventilation from picking up the apparatus was 26.8s and 15.1s, for the LMA and LPFM respectively (P<0.005). Although the LMA took significantly longer time to insert, it proved to be more successful and easier to use than the LPFM for EEAV.
