BACKGROUND The use of prehospital chest tube thoracostomy (TT) remains controversial because of presumed increased complication risks. This study analyzed infectious complication rates for physician-performed prehospital and emergency department (ED) TT. METHODS Over a 40-month period, all consecutive trauma patients with TT performed by the flight physician at the accident scene were compare...

BACKGROUND Emergency medical services (EMS) prenotification to hospitals regarding the arrival of patients who have had a stroke is recommended to facilitate the workup once the patient arrives. Most hospitals have the patient enter the emergency department (ED) before obtaining a head computed tomography (CT) scan. At Capital Health, prehospital stroke-alert patients are delivered directly to ...

Abstract: This case report discusses an ethical dilemma about consent and patient autonomy from prehospital emergency services. It is argued that the dilemma involves deep ethical problems, and that these problems have not received sufficient attention in the literature on the ethical dimension of emergency medicine and prehospital provider-patient communication. The discussion illustrates a ge...

INTRODUCTION To determine emergency physician (EP) opinions of prehospital patient care reports (PCRs) and whether such reports are available at the time of emergency department (ED) medical decision-making. METHODS Prospective, cross-sectional, electronic web-based survey of EPs regarding preferences and availability of prehospital PCRs at the time of ED medical decision-making. RESULTS We...

s – 17th World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine s93 May 2011 Prehospital and Disaster Medicine studies. An overview of training and education of Agricultural Emergency Response personnel across the United States will be covered with a more in depth look at the training provided by the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service. Conclusion: The Professional Development Staff provides tech...

OBJECTIVES Paramedics routinely make critical decisions about the most appropriate care to deliver in a complex system characterized by significant variation in patient case-mix, care pathways and linked service providers. There has been little research carried out in the ambulance service to identify areas of risk associated with decisions about patient care. The aim of this study was to explo...

OBJECTIVES To define the use of paediatric advanced life support by the Leicestershire Ambulance and Paramedic Service (LAPS) and the A&E department of a large university teaching hospital; and to identify the outcome and determine the factors that are consistent with a successful outcome. SUBJECTS AND METHODS The prehospital, accident and emergency (A&E), and inpatient notes of all patients ...

INTRODUCTION Quality improvement collaboratives are a popular model used to address gaps between evidence-based practice and patient care. Little is known about use of such collaboratives in emergency medical services, particularly for improving prehospital stroke care. To determine the feasibility of using this approach to improve prehospital stroke care, we conducted a pilot study of the Emer...