decerebate posturing

[anna]

so, weirdly, I was driving around town today and came up to some lights and things so I stopped and there were a couple of cops around this young woman, college student I guess, who was lying in the street. Seeing no ambulance around I parked and went over.

She had been shoplifting and got chased down by a store employee and pushed into traffic where she had acquired a head injury. I'm a nooob EMT and I work for a different company and I hadn't seen this type of injury before, but she was doing textbook decerebate posturing and was short of breath; Her pupils were fixed, dilated and she was quite unresponsive to anything. Anyway, the ambulance showed up and they kinda threw her on a gurney and didn't bother to stabilize her head, which proceeded to thrash around when she was secured to it.

I didn't think that was right, I'm almost sure that's not right, but at the same time I didn't feel qualified enough to say something about it..

 

[medicRob]

so, weirdly, I was driving around town today and came up to some lights and things so I stopped and there were a couple of cops around this young woman, college student I guess, who was lying in the street. Seeing no ambulance around I parked and went over.

She had been shoplifting and got chased down by a store employee and pushed into traffic where she had acquired a head injury. I'm a nooob EMT and I work for a different company and I hadn't seen this type of injury before, but she was doing textbook decerebate posturing and was short of breath; Her pupils were fixed, dilated and she was quite unresponsive to anything. Anyway, the ambulance showed up and they kinda threw her on a gurney and didn't bother to stabilize her head, which proceeded to thrash around when she was secured to it.

I didn't think that was right, I'm almost sure that's not right, but at the same time I didn't feel qualified enough to say something about it..

I know there is research that says the C Collars and backboards are doing damage, but those few studies are not enough to deter me from completely using them, especially when my *** is on the line for not doing so. I would have certainly C-Spined that patient. You were correct to think something was up.

 

[JPINFV]

Blunt trauma, loss of consciousness, fixed and dilated pupils, and posturing? Yea, ok, even I'll admit that if a patient on physical exam might be helped, this would meet that mark.

 

[LondonMedic]

Someone doing true decerebrate posturing is going to pivot around their c-spine, if you try to board them you'll make it worse - RSI and then collar, blocks and board is the way to go.

 

[Bieber]

Edit:

Sorry, I misread you in your post, I thought it said the patient was thrashing around. My bad. Carry on.