Complications from pre-hospital immobilisation

On arrival to the Emergency Department (ED), the patient was in severe respiratory distress and had an altered mental status. She continued to fail her arms around, grabbed at her cervical collar, and...

Endotracheal adrenaline in cardiac arrest due to near-fatal asthma: a case study

A 999 emergency call to a 57-year-old female with breathing diffculty; seen to collapse in the street and ‘going blue’. The caller, a passer-by, said the female was holding an asthma inhaler. The...

Paediatric anaphylaxis: triggers and management

An increase in the incidence of anaphylaxis in the industrialised world has been suggested by recent studies (Yocum et al, 1999; Decker et al, 2008; Simons and Sampson, 2008; Rudders et al, 2010). A...

Can IV paracetamol be as effective as morphine in pain management?

Keeping a ‘stiff upper lip’ in paramedic practice: coping with emotion work

Hydrocortisone emergency in pituitary patients: adrenal/addisonian crisis

Hydrocortisone is a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal gland. A good majority of people with pituitary conditions have to take replacement hydrocortisone daily as they don't produce this...

The ambulance service: the past, present and future

The past is indeed another country; they do things differently there. In comparatively recent mid-20th century history ambulance services operated to a simple formula, conceived and designed function...

They think it’s all over-managing post cardiac arrest syndrome

Following ROSC the patient undergoes a number of pathophysiological processes not dissimilar to those suffered during severe sepsis (Adrie et al, 2004). This has been termed Post Cardiac Arrest...

Wound ballistics: exploring the wounding potential of penetrating projectile injury

The capacity for a penetrating projectile to cause damage to tissues is determined by its kinetic perform work’, like any form of energy, is subject to the law of energy conservation, which dictates...

Pre-hospital improvised bronchodilator therapy of a patient on bi-level positive airway pressure therapy

Further assessment found that the patient had bilateral inspiratory and expiratory wheezes and crepitations on auscultation of his anterior and posterior chest, saturation of peripheral oxygen (SpO2)...

Guideline alert: British thoracic society emergency oxygen use in adult patients

Historically, the belief has generally been that where oxygen is concerned ‘more is better’. The guideline highlights situations where this is not the case, and indeed may even be dangerous, while...

Qualitative interview study of clinicians’ opinions of which intubation aids to use following a CBRN incident

This was a qualitative, interviewed-based studydesigned to gauge the opinions and views of agroup of UK based non-homogenous cliniciansregarding what intubation aids should be evaluatedfor use while...