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 obtain a better understanding of how stroke events are communicated to 9-1-1 telecommunicators, and how telecommunicators and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel respond to such calls. ⋯ Although typical stroke symptoms are commonly described, calls are often not classified as "strokes" by telecommunicators. Nevertheless, because of the symptoms reported during the calls, the majority of cases are treated as high priority by telecommunicators.
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Carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) levels can be estimated by chemical analysis of exhaled alveolar breath. Such noninvasive measurement could be used on the fireground to screen both firefighters (FFs) and victims. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of using a hand-held carbon monoxide (CO) monitoring device to screen for CO toxicity in FFs under field conditions. ⋯ A hand-held CO monitoring device adapted for estimation of COHb levels by exhaled breath analysis can feasibly be deployed on the fireground to assess CO exposure in FFs.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
The effect of a voice assist manikin (VAM) system on CPR quality among prehospital providers.
Numerous studies have documented poor cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) performance among prehospital providers during both simulated and actual resuscitations. Previous studies have shown that a real-time, voice assist manikin (VAM) system may improve CPR performance. ⋯ Use of VAM did not directly improve compression or ventilation rate or quality in this cohort of prehospital providers. However, use of VAM did prevent decay of compression and ventilation performance over time.
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Comparative Study
Prehospital pain management in children suffering traumatic injury.
Prehospital pain management has become an important emergency medical services (EMS) patient care issue. ⋯ Few pediatric patients receive prehospital analgesia, although most ultimately received ED analgesia. Few factors were identified that could be associated with EMS oligoanalgesia. No difference was found between children and adults in the rates of EMS analgesia.
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Comparative Study
Measuring the EMS patient access time interval and the impact of responding to high-rise buildings.
To measure the patient access time interval and characterize its contribution to the total emergency medical services (EMS) response time interval; to compare the patient access time intervals for patients located three or more floors above ground with those less than three floors above or below ground, and specifically in the apartment subgroup; and to identify barriers that significantly impede EMS access to patients in high-rise apartments. ⋯ The patient access time interval is significantly long and represents a substantial component of the total EMS response time interval, especially among ambulance calls originating three or more floors above ground. A number of barriers appear to contribute to delayed paramedic access.