Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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Millions of patients receive medications in the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) setting annually, and dosing safety is critically important. The need for weight-based dosing in pediatric patients and variability in medication concentrations available in the EMS setting may require EMS providers to perform complex calculations to derive the appropriate dose to deliver. These factors can significantly increase the risk for harm when dose calculations are inaccurate or incorrect. ⋯ These recommendations are summarized in the National Association of EMS Physicians® position statement: Medication Dosing Safety for Pediatric Patients in Emergency Medical Services.
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Introduction: Multiple national organizations have identified a need to incorporate more evidence-based medicine in emergency medical services (EMS) through the creation of evidence-based guidelines (EBGs). Tools like the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II and criteria outlined by the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) have established concrete recommendations for the development of high-quality guidelines. While many guidelines have been created that address topics within EMS medicine, neither the quantity nor quality of prehospital EBGs have been previously reported. ⋯ Conclusions: EBGs exist addressing a variety of topics in EMS medicine. This systematic review and appraisal of EMS guidelines identified a wide range in the quality of these guidelines and variable reporting of key elements of clinical guidelines. Future guideline developers should consider established methodological and reporting recommendations to improve the quality of EMS guidelines.
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Trauma, with resultant bleeding, is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world; however, the best possible method of bleeding control by immediate responders is unknown. We performed a systematic review of the effectiveness of treatment modalities for severe, life-threatening external bleeding in the out-of-hospital first aid setting. Methods: We followed the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions methodology and report results according to PRISMA guidelines. ⋯ Conclusion: Overall, data regarding the control of life-threatening bleeding is of very low certainty, making it difficult to draw robust conclusions for treatment by immediate responders. While more robust data is needed on first aid treatments of life-threatening bleeding, this systematic review aggregates the most comprehensive to date to help guide recommendations. Key words: bleeding; hemorrhage; tourniquet; hemostatic dressing; direct pressure.
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Objective: The proximal tibia is a recommended and commonly used site for pediatric emergency intraosseous vascular access (IO). During forensic whole body postmortem computed tomography (PMCT), we evaluated accuracy of emergency placement of tibial IO access. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of 92 state medical examiner cases to assess presence and placement of tibial IO needles. ⋯ Failures occur during both prehospital and emergency department care. In infants age 6 months or younger, use of a 25-mm needle should be avoided. Procedures for IO insertion in infants age 6 months or younger should be reviewed and modification considered.
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Background: After numerous recent mass casualty events, civilian hemorrhage control has taken a militaristic approach with aggressive and early use of tourniquets. While military literature has demonstrated the utility of tourniquets in preventing battlefield deaths from extremity injuries, there is limited understanding of their role in civilian penetrating trauma deaths. The purpose of this study is to review medical examiner (ME) autopsy records in a defined population to determine the incidence of preventable deaths from extremity wounds amenable to tourniquet placement. ⋯ Conclusion: Among urban ME cases, both isolated extremity cases and concurrent extremity-central injuries exist that may be amenable to life-saving tourniquet use. Extrapolating our findings nationwide suggests that many lives could be saved with early tourniquet use. Considering these findings, tourniquet availability and early placement may have a prominent role in reducing injury deaths from penetrating trauma.