Signs and Symptoms

[NomadicMedic]

Reasons why as in why his vitals are this way? If that’s what you’re asking, EMS is not for diagnosing patients. You stabilize them until they can get advanced treatment in a hospital.

This is why we cant have nice things.

 

[VentMonkey]

@iExposeDeformities so a few things. Again, this thread is mega old so we’re not getting anything else but our own spin and speculations at this point.

If that’s what you’re asking, EMS is not for diagnosing patients.

This line of thought is outdated at best. At worst, it limits the field provider to a small box within their critical thinking abilities to rule in, or out (yes, limited diagnosing) a handful of therapies that may need to be provided from basic to advanced life support measures within their respective scopes.

In essence your train of thought unfortunately defines the classic “cookie-cutter” mentality. Try broadening your horizons.

30 resps is on the high side which will most likely produce shallow respiration’s but not all the time and combine that with unconsciousness? You bet I’m OPA and bag. But like you said, if they’re satting >95 on O2 then that’s that

Lastly, and to further illustrate both your point, and mine—what if by assisting their ventilations you’re doing more harm than good?

Compensatory means just that: they’re compensating (if in fact they are here) for something, e.g., ASA OD or DKA/ HHNK. It’s also why a broad brush to paint with is better than a narrow one to most clinicians. These subgroups you may actually not want to assist.

Hopefully this makes more sense, and you can begin to see why field diagnosis—whether we call it that yet, or not—plays an important role in prehospital medicine.

Afterall, being a part of medicine means endless evolutionary changes. Some are good, some are bad, and some bring us right back to where we started.

 

[iExposeDeformities]

This is why we cant have nice things.

No the reason why we can’t have nice things is because of capitalism

 

[luke_31]

No the reason why we can’t have nice things is because of capitalism

I don't know about that. Lots of companies provide power stretchers and auto load systems, those are very expensive. Why do that when a non powered stretcher can do the job. Where I work we carry iStats, coolers for saline, Lifepak 15s, Phillips portable monitors, electronic thermometers for getting rectal temps, Stryker power stretchers with the auto load system, and a portable pulse ox. That is for each truck and we have eight trucks, now we only have five phillips portable monitors, but we are looking to acquire three more to outfit all the trucks in the future. Why would we carry all that when it adds to the cost of running the ambulance?

 

[VFlutter]

No the reason why we can’t have nice things is because of capitalism

Whatever you say Comrade

 

[StCEMT]

Reasons why as in why his vitals are this way? If that’s what you’re asking, EMS is not for diagnosing patients. You stabilize them until they can get advanced treatment in a hospital.

I'll remember I can't diagnose next time I see a huge STEMI, clear signs of a stroke, definite symptoms of DKA, a needle in someone's arm, fairly progressed sepsis, or any number of things I see on a regular basis. Then I will pass it along to the doc that I can't diagnose and that I need their help with words.

 

[joshrunkle35]

OP didn’t say if pt is unconscious because of bodily trauma or not. But if it wasn’t, pt is most likely unconscious due to hypoperfusion. 30 resps is on the high side which will most likely produce shallow respiration’s but not all the time and combine that with unconsciousness? You bet I’m OPA and bag. But like you said, if they’re satting >95 on O2 then that’s that

And, if the cause is Carbon Monoxide Poisoning?

 

[joshrunkle35]

No the reason why we can’t have nice things is because of capitalism

Ah, yes...the idea that having 10% of services unavailable to the entire population is morally superior than forcing 10% of the population into crippling debt after they receive whatever immediate care they need.

 

[Colt45]

Reasons why as in why his vitals are this way? If that’s what you’re asking, EMS is not for diagnosing patients. You stabilize them until they can get advanced treatment in a hospital.

This literally made me cringe. Differential diagnosis for advanced level prehospital providers is a major part of our job. To sit and stick with the mindset that we are only a transportation service and shouldn't be using our knowledge to rule in or out possible diagnosis for critical patients is the reason why our profession doesn't get the respect that we all want. Mostly these comments come from basic level providers who have yet to learn to actually understand the diseases and their processes. They just see "sick". It makes those of us who actually care to be more than a beanpole provider irritated.