Nordisk medicin
-
The article consists in a review of the development of prehospital care in Finland and of emergency medical services in Helsinki. Based on 20 years' accumulated experience at a physician staffed prehospital emergency care unit in Helsinki, emergency medical services throughout the country have begun implementing the various links in the 'chain of survival' concept.
-
The specialized care provided at the trauma centre in Baltimore, Maryland, in the USA is described. By means of a sophisticated communications system, prehospital and hospital care are coordinated with a view to providing optimal care to people with various types of injuries. It is suggested how the American experience might be applied to conditions in the Nordic countries in order to improve the quality of trauma care.
-
A prospective registration was carried out of all patients with multiple injuries who were admitted to hospital in 1990 during the first 24 hours after the accident. The total number was 441, and included 47 patients with penetrating injuries. Such patients constituted 5 per cent of a total of 9,000 admitted patients, and 19 per cent of a total of 2,266 injured persons. ⋯ Among the 41 patients who died the main cause of death was haemorrhage in 17, and airway obstruction in five. Estimation of probability of survival showed that the mortality in this series compared well with the mortality in larger series of injured persons in America. None the less, improvement is still feasible.
-
The laryngeal mask airway represents a new concept in airway management of anesthetised patients. It is inserted without any instruments and is very easy to use, even for unskilled personnel. ⋯ In this article the technique is presented together with indications and limitations. Based on our experience we find the laryngeal mask airway an excellent alternative to the face mask, even in procedures of short duration.