Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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1) To perform a statewide analysis of the frequency of major pediatric trauma cases and the use of resuscitation skills by paramedics (EMT-Ps). 2) To determine whether EMT-Ps use resuscitation skills less frequently for injured children than for older patients. ⋯ EMT-Ps infrequently manage seriously injured children. i.v.s are less frequently placed in pediatric trauma patients, even in the setting of physiologic abnormalities. The contributions of these field procedures to patient outcomes should be evaluated further.
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Routine vital signs assessment is considered a fundamental component of patient assessment. This study was undertaken to determine whether advanced life support (ALS) emergency medical services (EMS) providers depend on vital signs information in managing their patients. ⋯ The presence or absence of vital signs information does influence some of the patient care decisions of EMS providers; however, the clinical implications of these decisions are unclear. Further studies are needed to determine whether ALS providers can adequately manage actual patients without obtaining vital signs.