Annals of emergency medicine
-
Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Prehospital oral endotracheal intubation by rural basic emergency medical technicians.
To determine whether basic emergency medical technicians (EMT-B) can perform prehospital oral endotracheal intubation with success rates comparable to those of paramedics. ⋯ Rural EMTs with didactic and airway manikin training failed to achieve prehospital intubation success rates comparable to those of paramedic controls. Possible explanations include training deficiencies, poor skill transference from manikin to human intubation, infrequent intubation experiences, and inconsistent supervision.
-
Prior research has established the futility of continued resuscitation efforts for patients in cardiac arrest who fail to respond to out-of-hospital advanced cardiac life support. Determination of both medical and nonmedical factors resulting in the transport of patients in continuing cardiac arrest to the hospital may encourage the development of new systems or strategies to increase the appropriateness of these transports. ⋯ Factors other than medical ones often influence the decision to transport patients in continuing cardiac arrest. In our urban system, physician, medical examiner, and paramedic education and protocols were needed to aid decision-making in this situation.
-
Emergency medicine is growing rapidly as a specialty and is beginning to be recognized as an essential component of medicine in China. Traditional Chinese medicine and modern technology exist together. ⋯ The practice of emergency medicine in China was researched by direct observation at several Chinese cities and by literature review. China is taking the parts of the Western system it can use and implementing its own methods in the overall practice of emergency medicine.
-
To describe the incidence and outcome of firearm-related injuries and to describe trends over time. ⋯ Firearm-related suicides among the young and assault-related shootings among all persons increased. The estimated proportion of shooting victims who survived did not change over time.
-
Emergency medicine in Hong Kong is a relatively new specialty. Substantial progress toward recognition of emergency medicine in the territory has occurred during the past 2 years, and the Hong Kong College of Emergency Medicine is now formally recognized by the Royal College of Surgeons in the United Kingdom. With the transfer of the territory to chinese rule, the emergency medical system in Hong Kong may serve as a model for the development of emergency medicine in mainland China.