Search results

Having a discussion with my esteemed colleagues and would like additional input. Has anyone experienced a jammed ETT (or other device) that was jammed onto the BVM or vent connection so tight that you couldn't separate them and/or use the wedge that may have been supplied? Any thoughts and...

Its a huge risk that provides very little support if you're wrong and/or things go south. There is an increased risk of pneumo with a flail as you state, plus the changes in WOB may make it more uncomfortable for the patient (there may be decreased inhaled WOB but also an increase in exhaled...

If I may speak about boots...as my most current life involves standing on concrete trade show floors, decent shoes are a must (I have a colleague who wears custom made Italian shoes solely for this purpose). I was at EMS World one year and was discussing this with one of my colleagues and when...

Today's bit of trivia: In the UK, physicians are called "Mister/Miss/MRS/Ms..." unless they have a Doctorate of Medicine, which allows the use of "Dr".

My information from a pharmacist was four grains (recognizing that he was referring to weight). Performing a quick Google search, I found on a several sites: "Although never tested in humans, the lethal dose of carfentanil may be in the order of 20mcg (micrograms), perhaps the size of one grain...

Its the carfentanil that you want to worry about since its 100 times more potent that fentanyl and 5000 times more potent than heroin and 10,000 times more potent than morphine. Four grains can kill you, so accidental exposure isn't that hard. We have had several firefighters experience...

I agree. The goals are lofty but (as in many things bureaucratic) the execution is problematic. I once assisted the first regulatory body for my profession in Ontario, Canada. The council was half professional registrants and half public member appointees. As we were discussing the annual...

Greetings all, I wanted to reach out to Canadian EMS providers to inform them that access to some equipment may decrease throughout the rest of 2018 and 2019 due to changes in Health Canada's regulatory program. The MDSAP program is a well-intentioned auditing program where a third party...

The maximum airflow that can pass through a tube is an inverse function of the radius to the power of four. In English, that means that if you reduce the radius of a tube by half, the flow that can pass through the tube is cut 16 times (1/16). For patients that have respiratory issues to begin...

A quick literature search revealed these studies for those who may have access to them. You can get complications in as little as a few hours, leading to rupture into the esophagus.

Here's one a little closer to home: http://www.kalmed.net/PylantMonitor/Literature/tabid/154/Default.aspx

To state without further evidence that its categorically wrong (IMHO) is a bit incorrect. I would suggest "suspect" as a more appropriate term, as it includes possible errors from the device as well as the user.

I am sure that these standards were created when tidal volumes were 10-15 mL/kg. Or put another way, you may recognize that you don't have to squeeze the bejesus out of the bag to make your target (plus it shows that the target can be reached even if you have smaller or weaker hands). Smooth...

I have attached a copy of the BVM insert that I deal with (removing any identifying numbers in case I am accused of promoting a brand). You can see that each size has been tested for one-hand and two-hand volume delivery (as per international standards). The only way to determine the actual...

I often resort to the line, "Stop looking on the rear view mirror. You aren't going in that direction". Another one I recently heard was, "I can't touch the past so why am I letting it touch me?". Glad to hear that you made it to where you wanted to end up.

Agreed but you never know if some decision maker would take the information and fly off the handle. On a personal note I once discovered (in a bad way) that my BP was 225/139 (and the issue was after I had been tracking my BP with a cuff I bought off Amazon (not licensed by Health Canada - I...

Last fall the AHA released a lower standard for the definition of hypertension and pre-hypertension. Just wondering how this has affected your calls and/or treatment. Personally I see this as something that is discovered more in the family practice setting and less in the pre-hospital EMS...

My two cents (please forgive me)...respiration is the physiological occurrence of cellular mitochondria using an electron from an oxygen atom for the purpose of reducing ATP to ADP and energy (via Krebs Cycle, glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation depending on certain factors and what's on...

I wouldn't buy anything that you wouldn't get too upset when it goes missing or gets stepped/puked on. My watch was purchased at Walmart 30 years ago and actually still gets complimented on. Find something that you can read in the dark. My first 'scope was $$ and had to be replaced after a...

We used to have them but as a "tour" of the Emerg Dept...once they were in the trauma room, the EMS would wheel someone in (one of their classmates who was "sick" that morning for the tour). We would tell the tour to stand in the corner but don't say pr do anything. They would be pretty intent...