Endotracheal intubation of pediatric patients by paramedics.

Although a number of studies have described endotracheal intubation of adult patients in the prehospital setting, there are few studies on prehospital endotracheal intubation of pediatric patients. The purposes of our study were to determine how frequently prehospital endotracheal intubation was used in pediatric cardiopulmonary arrests when a paramedic trained in endotracheal intubation was present, to determine the success rate and complications associated with the procedure in the field, and to compare resuscitation rates and outcome in patients with and without prehospital endotracheal intubation. Our retrospective study covered a 38-month period and included all prehospital victims of medical cardiopulmonary arrest under the age of 19 years. Data were collected from field assessment forms and validated by hospital charts, autopsy reports, coroner's reports, death certificates, and emergency medical services central dispatch logs. Of 63 victims of medical cardiorespiratory arrest, 42 had intubating paramedics present at the scene. Twenty-eight of 42 patients (66%) had endotracheal intubation attempted. Eighteen of 28 attempts (64%) were successful, associated with a major complication rate of 7% (two of 28) and a minor complication rate of 39% (11 of 28). In patients less than 1 year old, only six of 16 (38%) had endotracheal intubation attempted and only three of six (50%) attempts were successful. Of the 18 patients who were intubated successfully before arrival at the hospital, nine (50%) survived to hospital admission and one (6%) survived to discharge. The remainder died in the emergency department.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Mechanism of injury and anatomic injury as criteria for prehospital trauma triage.

Prehospital trauma triage should permit accurate identification and transport of patients with critical injuries to trauma centers without overloading these centers with patients having minor injuries. In most trauma systems a combination of physiologic criteria (Trauma Score [TS]), mechanisms of injury (MOI), and anatomic injury (AI) are used as prehospital trauma triage criteria. The purpose of our study was to assess the predictive value of specific MOI and AI in detecting critically injured trauma victims (Injury Severity Score [ISS] of more than 15) and determine the best combination of TS, MOI, and AI that produced the lowest percentage of undertriage and overtriage. Previous studies have examined only patients triaged to trauma centers; our study included all trauma patients regardless of destination. A total of 1,473 trauma patients was evaluated and transported by the emergency medical services system and studied prospectively during a nine-week period. Prehospital TS, specific MOI and AI, and final disposition and diagnosis were determined on all patients. The ISS was calculated on all hospital admissions. A total of 97 patients had an ISS of more than 15. Three hundred forty-one (23%) had one of the specific MOI studied; 102 (6.9%) had one of the specific AI studied. Four hundred twelve patients (28%) had at least one of the study MOI or AI.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Prehospital patients refusing care.

In summary, many of the complex medicolegal and ethical issues surrounding the prehospital patient who refuses all or part of the care offered by the EMS system have been reviewed. The best outcome can be achieved using a sliding scale of capacity and a conservative approach to treatment rather than releasing the patient at the scene. Finally, the roles of collateral history, inquiries as to the origin of the patient's refusal of care, direct physician interaction with the patient, a spirit of creativity and compromise in dealing with the patient, meticulous documentation, and policy issues have been discussed.

Epidemiology of pediatric prehospital care.

Very few studies about prehospital care of pediatric emergencies have been published. With new interest in emergency care of the pediatric population demonstrated by the development of Pediatric Advanced Life Support and Advanced Pediatric Life Support, it is imperative to have data that define the different types of problems encountered in the prehospital care setting and their outcomes. Prehospital assessment forms were reviewed retrospectively over a consecutive 12-month period beginning August 1, 1983. Patients under 19 years of age were studied in a service area with a population of 557,700. A total of 3,184 forms were analyzed, representing approximately 10% of all ambulance runs. This contrasts sharply with the fact that the pediatric age group represents 32% of the population. The major users were the youngest and the oldest of the pediatric population. Of the cases, 54.4% were in the trauma category. The largest trauma group was motor vehicle accidents in the adolescent age group. Male patients predominated in the trauma cases. Medical disorders were the major reason for prehospital care in the very young. The demand for emergency medical services (EMS) occurred mainly during the summer months and on weekends. More than 50 percent of all EMS pediatric cases occurred during the hours of 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Advanced life support was associated with prolonged on-scene time and had a relatively low use and success rate in the younger pediatric population. Resuscitation of 23 cases of pediatric prehospital arrest resulted in no survivors to hospital discharge. The appropriateness of prolonged time spent on scene (mean of 18.3 minutes in 1,196 cases) for prehospital pediatric emergencies requires further evaluation.

Medical control. Quality assurance in prehospital care.

Medical control is an essential component of a prehospital care system. It is a method of ensuring quality and accountability of the care provided and thus provides a method of risk management for the system. Politicians, fire departments, ambulance companies, physicians, and others are struggling for control of prehospital emergency care. Unless physicians are willing to become involved and provide leadership for prehospital care, it will be impossible to establish quality care. Physician input must be involved throughout planning, implementation, and evaluation of an EMS system. It is mandatory that physicians experienced in emergency care of the acutely ill or injured patient direct all medical aspects of the prehospital care system and provide ongoing review of the system. Medical control includes three phases: prospective, immediate, and retrospective. The incorporation of medical control in a specific EMS system will be dependent on that system's characteristics; nevertheless, proper medical control is essential to ensure a high quality of prehospital care. Further studies will be necessary to evaluate medical control and determine the best mechanism for providing quality assurance in prehospital care.

An emergency medical services curriculum for emergency medicine residencies.

Knowledge and experience in emergency medical services (EMS) are essential objectives for residency training in emergency medicine (EM). Although a need exists for competent physician EMS leaders, opportunities for educating emergency physicians in this aspect of emergency care have been few. We describe a curriculum for training EM residents in EMS. The purpose of this training is to assure competency in both on-line and off-line medical control. The former requires a working knowledge of the local system policies and the ability to respond appropriately to paramedic radio calls. Additional education prepares the resident for a much broader role in EMS, including off-line medical control.

Blood volume displacement with inflation of antishock trousers.

Eleven healthy male volunteers were studied to determine the amount of blood displaced by the inflation of the antishock trousers (AST) at pressures of 40 and 100 mm Hg. Radioisotope scans were used to determine the blood volume distribution and the change in the volume of distribution with inflation of the AST. The volunteers were then phlebotomized approximately one liter of blood and the study was repeated. Less than 5% of the total blood volume was displaced with inflation of the AST. It is unlikely that the clinical improvement seen with inflation of the AST in hypovolemic shock is due to autotransfusion of blood alone.

Rate of intracellular diffusion as measured in barnacle muscle.

The rate of intracellular diffusion of water, urea, and glycerol was measured in the giant barnacle Balanus nubilus. The calculated diffusion coefficients were not different from those values reported for dilute solutions.