Research

Intra-cardiac arrest thrombolysis in the pre-hospital setting: four cases worth considering

This young man had recently taken up jogging. On the evening before his collapse he complained of a painful calf and presumed that he had pulled a muscle. The next morning when he awoke he still had...

Essex and Herts Air Ambulance: a focused case series for pre-hospital practice

We report the case of a 38-year-old male who was working on an industrial site loading 2-tonne paper rolls into the container of a heavy goods vehicle (HGV). When one of the paper rolls slipped off...

The expanding scope of EMS: decreasing emergency department overcrowding in the United States

Chronic disease is defined as a long-lasting condition that can be controlled, but not cured (Salzman et al, 2012). Interestingly, over half of the US population lives with a least one chronic...

An integrated ABCDE approach to managing medical emergencies using CRM principles

‘An unplanned life-threatening event in which there is a mismatch between the ambient level of resources and those that a patient needs to regain stability.’ .

Delivering enhanced safety, productivity and experience: early results from a frequent caller management system

999 activity increased by 6.9% last year (Anderson, 2013) with incidents resulting in an ambulance service clinician attending scene increasing by 4% (Anderson, 2013) and patients discharged on scene...

Spotlight on Research

For decades there has been debate concerning the presence of lay people during resuscitation attempts. Predominantly the focus of the research has been in-hospital although in recent years we have...

Increasing objectivity in the assessment of interpersonal skills and attitude

To establish a structure to improve the development of essential non-practical skills..

Self-extrication in road traffic collisions: do we really need to cut the roof off?

This literature review incorporates two principal searches. Initially the review interrogated the Ovid Medline database, with search terms including ‘extrication’, ‘movement’, ‘pre-hospital’ and...

Spotlight on Research

Over the years it has been evidenced that early recognition and appropriate treatment of cardiac arrest can impact on survival rates, and this work emphasises the important role that bystanders can...

Essex and Herts Air Ambulance: a focused case series for pre-hospital practice Case 3: a femoral shaft fracture

A 23-year-old woman who, while crossing the road, was hit by a car coming towards her from her right side. Witnesses reported that the car drove over the patient and dragged her a few yards down the...

Experiences of two paramedics deployed to the Phillipines in response to Typhoon Haiyan

It is heartening to see the world rally together to assist in devastating events such as this. Many countries immediately mobilised resources in various capacities. The United Kingdom, small island...

Evaluation of pre-hospital point-of-care testing for lactate in sepsis and trauma patients

This study was designed to examine the feasibility, and potential impacts, of introducing POC lactate measurement into pre-hospital care within NEAS. The primary objective was to evaluate the Nova...