assessment

Fundamentals of blood pressure measurement

The body relies in the main on two key systems to ensure that blood pressure is maintained at the correct level to meet the body's requirements. In the longer term, the renin angiotensin aldosterone...

Ambulance CPAP Saves Lives: why don't we use it?

Current UK ambulance guidelines (Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison Committee (JRCALC), 2013) advocate the use of nitrates (in particular, glyceryl trinitrate) as the first-line treatment of ACPE....

Anatomical and physiological mechanisms of heartblock associated with AMI

The heartbeat is initiated by an intrinsic electrical system composed of modified myocytes. These myocytes are organised into a group of spontaneously discharging pacemaker cells, situated in the...

Understanding the difference between overweight, obese and bariatric

Various methods can be used to determine excess adipose tissue, in particular, Body Mass Index (BMI), waist measurement and waist-to-hip ratio..

Rhabdomyolysis: an overview for pre-hospital clinicians

Rhabdomyolysis is a syndrome that is characterised by the destruction of striated (skeletal) muscle leading to the release of cellular contents into the circulating blood plasma (Vanholder et al,...

Single-dose activated charcoal as a pre-hospital treatment for self-poisoning

A search strategy was undertaken of medical and nursing databases including Medline, Cinahl, Embase, Psychinfo, the Cochrane database of systematic reviews, together with the British Medical Journal...

The need for paramedics to be able to identify cauda equina syndrome

The spinal cord descends from the base of the medulla oblongata in the vertebral space, terminating approximately two thirds of the way down the vertebral column at the level of the second lumbar...

Diabetes mellitus: balancing blood glucose

Body cells need energy to function; glucose (sugar obtained from digestion and metabolism of carbohydrates) is the body's main energy source. The glucose in digested food is absorbed in the small...

Exploring paramedic patient assessment

Records of battlefield first aid can be evidenced on Grecian pottery from as early as 500 BC, demonstrating early records of ambulances in alignment with military activities (Pearn, 1994). With global...

Investigating gout: taking a new approach to an old disease

While gout is becoming an increasingly prevalent condition, it has its background many thousands of years ago. The Egyptians first identified gout in 2 640 BC, and in the fifth century, Hippocrates...

Understanding the process and treatment of meningitis and meningococcal disease

A large variety of organisms, such as meningococci, pneumococci and influenza type b, normally inhabit the naso- and oropharnyx, causing relatively no harm in a healthy individual. Predisposing...

Assessing the accuracy of Internet-based patient information for whiplash

An initial search was made by the authors to ascertain possible synonyms for whiplash that the general public may use to find more information about the condition. Four search engines were used:...