Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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To evaluate the effect of a new protocol allowing paramedics to administer morphine without a physician order to patients with extremity trauma with respect to time of morphine administration, scene time, morphine amount and number of doses per patient, and proportion of patients receiving morphine. ⋯ A change in protocol that permits trained paramedics to administer morphine without physician approval reduces time to analgesia administration without influencing the amount of morphine delivered per patient or the rate of prehospital morphine use. Further study should measure the effect on base hospital physician interruptions and patient outcome.
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This ten-year longitudinal study examines various attributes and demographic characteristics of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics to identify factors that influence their careers, to identify trends in emergency medical services (EMS), and to provide data on why individuals report leaving the EMS career field. ⋯ The initial EMT and paramedic attribute and demographic data have been collected, analyzed, and reported. The longitudinal nature of this study requires further data collection and analysis to accurately present trends in EMS, as well as correlations and associations between identified attributes and other factors that influence the careers of EMTs and paramedics. Further reports of the findings will be necessary.
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Injuries from assaults on paramedics and firefighters in an urban emergency medical services system.
To determine the nature and frequency of injuries resulting from assaults on paramedics and firefighters in a large, fire department-based emergency medical services (EMS) system. ⋯ In this EMS system, injuries resulting from assaults were uncommon. However, due to their potential impact on the victims and the EMS system as a whole, policies and procedures should be developed to minimize these incidents.
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The interval from collapse to electrical rescue shock is a critical determinant of successful defibrillation in cardiac arrest. In order to achieve the earliest possible defibrillation, many emergency medical services (EMS) systems equip first-responding units with an automated external defibrillator (AED). ⋯ The findings suggest that a 1-minute goal and a 90-second minimum standard for time to first shock are appropriate for EMT AED defibrillation in the field.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Automated external defibrillator (AED) utilization rates and reasons fire and police first responders did not apply AEDs.
To determine the rate at which fire and police first responders (FRs) apply automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and to ascertain reasons for not applying them. ⋯ Fire and police FRs did not apply AEDs to a significant number of OHCA patients. Use of the transport ambulance defibrillator was the primary reason given for not applying the FR AED. Given low AED application rates by FRs, future studies are needed to determine the characteristics of communities in which equipping FRs with AEDs is the most beneficial deployment strategy, and how to increase AED application by FRs in communities with FR AED programs.