prehospital

The hanging/hanged patient and relevance to pre-hospital care

Hanging can be categorised as judicial or non-judicial, with the former being a legal capital punishment, which usually follows a set procedure in order to cause death. Currently, it is argued that...

Is full pre-hospital spinal immobilisation best for the patient? A review of current controversies

Porth and Matfin (2008) describe SCI as damage to the neural elements of the spinal cord. SCIs are commonly classified using the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale (Figure 1)...

Pre-Hospital Advanced Cadaveric Trauma Skills (PHACTS) Course review

The course is specific to trauma skills training in the pre-hospital setting and focuses on providing delegates with exposure to those skills that are rarely performed. As well as hands on skills, the...

The use of polyvinyl chloride film (clingfilm) with burn injury in the pre-hospital setting—the clear facts

In 1987 the use of clingfilm gained early research exposure by Wilson and French. In their abstract they state:.

Is it time to change? The use of intranasal fentanyl for severe pain in the pre-hospital setting

Cannulation is the main barrier to the administration of opioid analgesia, and this has been shown to be a problem in the young, the elderly, the shocked patient and the cognitively impaired. Studies...

Palliative emergencies in the pre-hospital setting

The evidence base for the treatment of palliative patients by paramedics is still limited. However, recent publications by Brady (2012a; 2012b; 2012c), Gakhal et al (2011), Pettifer and Bronnert...

Pre-hospital paediatric seizures: midazolam versus diazepam

The aim of this article is to review the evidence for the use of diazepam and midazolam, and to determine which anticonvulsant is the most appropriate for termination of paediatric seizures by...

Pre-hospital assessment and treatment of meningococcal meningitis

Because bacterial meningitis is life-threatening, early diagnosis and treatment is vital (Brouwer et al, 2012)—the necessity of which is underlined in a study that demonstrated an association between...

Potential use of amiodarone to treat new-onset AF in the pre-hospital setting

AF is frequently associated with structural abnormalities in the heart or cardiac disease, or may result from damage to the heart tissue itself, from thoracic surgery or coronary artery bypass grafts...

The use of telemedicine technology to support in pre-hospital patient care

Before reviewing the available technology, it is worth briefly outlining the history of technology in medicine, referred to as ‘telemedicine’. Utilising technology for health care is actually an old...

Pulse oximetry in the pre-hospital setting

Oxygen transportation occurs when there is a diffusion of gases that move from higher concentrations to lower concentrations. The oxygen content of blood is bound to haemoglobin and is dissolved in...