Does anyone carry a thermometer on their bus?

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NYMedic828

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This always struck me as ridiculous.

We carry $50,000 in equipment on the average ALS ambulance here in NYC and we don't carry a $50 thermometer...

I personally am terrible at differentiating between someone who has and doesn't have a fever based on touch alone unless the patient is nearly cooking in their own skin.

I don't see why giving us a thermometer, as a tool to aid in ruling out sepsis or infection would be so terrible. I mean the first thing we do when we walk into triage is take vitals and temperature...


The only way I can accurately take your temperature in the field, is by jamming a probe down your esophagus. (Which doesn't work half the time because it gets stuck in the back of the throat and just bunches up)
 
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No when I am on a bus I do not have a thermometer. Now when on the ambulance I have multiple available.
 
No we do not carry them on the ambulance. Depending on the fire department, they may have one.
 
This is sad. A proper assessment and treatment plan can not be made for a person with fever or hypothermia, etc. Yes you can make treatment decisions if patient is on the extreme of either end of the temp but not before they get extreme.
 
We don't have one on our rigs, but I'm pretty sure everyone has one in their personal jump bags we bring with us on our shifts. I had never thought about it before, but it is rather silly that with all the equipment on board these ambulances we don't have thermometer.
 
Every ambulance service I have worked for stocked oral thermometers. However, I went to CVS and bought my own "temporal" thermometer. It's quick and easier to use on kids.

I agree, a temp can be an important part of an assessment.
 
When I worked on NSLIJ's 46Y/53Y/54Y, we had CPAP, but no glucometer or thermometer, so don't feel too frustrated.

I like the tympanic thermometers we have at my FD. Like 417 said, it assists us in forming our differentials.
 
patput said:
We don't have one on our rigs, but I'm pretty sure everyone has one in their personal jump bags we bring with us on our shifts. I had never thought about it before, but it is rather silly that with all the equipment on board these ambulances we don't have thermometer.
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Your employer makes you buy your own jump bag and also stock it on your own dime?
 
We only have hypothermic thermometers. The reasoning is that we don't need normal thermometers because they wont change out treatment plan. I did buy a cheap temporal artery thermometer, but it disappeared and I haven't replaced it.
 
We've got them on ours.
 
46Young said:
Your employer makes you buy your own jump bag and also stock it on your own dime?
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We are an volunteer agency, they supply everything. Maybe jump bag was the wrong word there, I was talking about our personal bags that we bring with us. Most of us through a few useful things (flashlight, leathermen, etc) in our bags along with personal items.
 
Wow! I just assumed a thermometer was required on all rigs. If someone has a fever we give tylenol especially with peds. We also use to obtain temp in DOA's. Every patient gets temp taken for us it's part of standard work up.
 
We had them for about a year, then the trucks went in for standardization and they got pulled for no reason I'm aware of. We managed to keep ours for awhile, but then it disappeared at scheduled maintenance. I miss the damned things.

Though no with a sepsis directive hitting the books in the future, I imagine it'll make a reappearance.
 
Aidey said:
We only have hypothermic thermometers. The reasoning is that we don't need normal thermometers because they wont change out treatment plan.
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pretty much what I was going to say.

out of 4 of our trucks, 1 has a non-invasive thermometer (the one that goes on a patient's forehead).

I don't think I have had a need to gauge an accurate them in almost 10 years (outside of normal vital signs, or drowning/hypothermia).
 
Ambulance does not, bag at sports medicine job does. Campus health and our doctors want to know what the patient's temp is when we consult with them, I want to know what it is too since it can affect my treatment at the non-ambulance job.
 
We have one. With covers for the probe. Doesn't get used all that much but we do use it from time to time. Mostly for peds but I have used it on adults as well. Like someone else said, I suck at differentiating febrile vs. afebrile unless they are beating me over the head with the fact that they are cooking themselves internally.
 
I'm quite shocked that there are services out there that don't stock thermometers. The idea it doesn't effect Tx is hogwash, at least in my service, a difference in temp can determine whether we take a pt to a hospital, clinic, or even leave them at home.
 
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