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 analyze medical care facilities and resources available for spectators attending football games in the current National Football League (NFL) stadiums. ⋯ A wide variety of system designs, facilities, and personnel configurations are used to provide emergency medical care for spectators attending NFL games. This information may be useful for assisting those individuals responsible for organizing stadium medical coverage.
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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.
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Comment Comparative Study
Outcomes of cardiac arrest in the nursing home: destiny or futility? [see comment].
To compare EMS system characteristics and outcomes between nursing home (NH) patients and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients whose arrests occurred in a residence (home). ⋯ During this four-and-a-half-year study period, no NH patient survived, even though % CPR was increased. Arrest rhythm is an important factor in this finding. EMS initial care for ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation NH patients, with less application of AEDs, was identified. This different response may adversely contribute to dismal NH outcome.