Features

Future electric vehicles for ambulances (FEVA)

The data from the word map (Figure 3) were grouped to develop the interview proforma (Table 1) for the second stage of data collection. The interview data were analysed to identify common themes for...

Traumatic brain injuries: Continuing dilemmas in the pre-hospital care arena

Immediate manual inline immobilisation was initiated to prevent further secondary injuries from a possible undiagnosed c-spine fracture, while a primary survey was undertaken. This survey provides a...

Seasonal variations effect on trauma admissions: Myth or reality?

A systematic search for relevant studies was undertaken using Medline, EMBASE and Cochrane databases. Studies from 1990 to 2011 were included. The MESH terms used for the search included: trauma...

Pre-mature babies born in the pre-hospital setting: A challenging situation

The UK Ambulance Service Clinical Practice Guidelines (2006) recommend that paramedic teams should make every effort to transport a mother where the delivery is imminent between 20 to 37 weeks of...

‘A pain in the back’: Psoas abscess and the importance of red and yellow flags

A 19 year old man attended an ED in Wales (UK) with an eleven day history of low back pain. Following a five mile walk he developed bilateral heaviness in his legs, one day later he experienced...

Pre-hospital coronary heart disease: Analysing performance indicators

Ischemic heart disease is a condition characterised by inadequate myocardial perfusion caused by reduced blood supply, increased myocardial oxygen demand, or both (Falk et al. 2011). Coronary heart...

The introduction of the intubating laryngeal mask into paramedic practice

The study was conducted to fulfil the requirement of a master of medical science by research. Ethics approval for this study was obtained from the University of Tasmania Human Research Ethics...

First evaluation of CPD advanced paramedic teaching methods in Ireland

Completed questionnaires were coded numerically and inputted to statistical packages for the Social Sciences (SPSS™ version 14.0) for analysis. Qualitative data, specifically free text comments, were...

Legal substances and their abuse: Legal highs

Stimulants such as caffeine, dextromethorphan in cough remedies, cough and cold remedies containing stimulants or antihistamines are misused and abused for improving performance and for their...