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EMS Baloney Detection Kit
By Bryan Bledsoe, DO, FACEP
May 17, 2005
Sitting across your desk is the regional representative from Pelagic Systems, who’s demonstrating his new cervical spine monitoring device. The representative is a friendly fellow, well-dressed in a blue suit with a Star of Life pin on the lapel.
He reports that his company has developed a device that’s highly effective in detecting cervical fractures in the prehospital setting. The device is a mesh that fits around the neck of the injured patient. Within it are electromagnetic and acoustic sensors adjusted to detect the slightest amount of crepitus in the cervical spine. These signals are sent to a series of lights that identify the likelihood of a cervical fracture.
The idea, he explains, came from research on electrical sensors found in sharks. He says, “Dr. Matt Rothenstein, who wrote The EMS Bible, is using the device in Seattle with great results.” He elaborates, “The Tahitian Defense Forces have equipped all of its medical units with the device.”
You ask him for supporting research, and he provides a glossy brochure that his company has prepared. It has plenty of graphs, pictures and multiple quotes. He says, “The $4,500 unit cost is nothing compared to a lawsuit for missing a spinal fracture and not immobilizing the patient.”
EMS personnel love gadgets and technology. Who could argue that detecting cervical spine fractures in the prehospital setting might be good thing? But is it? EMS personnel are facing an increasing number of claims and “standards of care” that are not based on any valid scientific evidence. So, how can you tell the science from the pseudoscience in EMS? Use my EMS Baloney Detection Kit.
Rest HERE - Jems Free Content
By Bryan Bledsoe, DO, FACEP
May 17, 2005
Sitting across your desk is the regional representative from Pelagic Systems, who’s demonstrating his new cervical spine monitoring device. The representative is a friendly fellow, well-dressed in a blue suit with a Star of Life pin on the lapel.
He reports that his company has developed a device that’s highly effective in detecting cervical fractures in the prehospital setting. The device is a mesh that fits around the neck of the injured patient. Within it are electromagnetic and acoustic sensors adjusted to detect the slightest amount of crepitus in the cervical spine. These signals are sent to a series of lights that identify the likelihood of a cervical fracture.
The idea, he explains, came from research on electrical sensors found in sharks. He says, “Dr. Matt Rothenstein, who wrote The EMS Bible, is using the device in Seattle with great results.” He elaborates, “The Tahitian Defense Forces have equipped all of its medical units with the device.”
You ask him for supporting research, and he provides a glossy brochure that his company has prepared. It has plenty of graphs, pictures and multiple quotes. He says, “The $4,500 unit cost is nothing compared to a lawsuit for missing a spinal fracture and not immobilizing the patient.”
EMS personnel love gadgets and technology. Who could argue that detecting cervical spine fractures in the prehospital setting might be good thing? But is it? EMS personnel are facing an increasing number of claims and “standards of care” that are not based on any valid scientific evidence. So, how can you tell the science from the pseudoscience in EMS? Use my EMS Baloney Detection Kit.
Rest HERE - Jems Free Content