Capno 101: What is Airway Management?
Airway management is a critical EMS skill. Simply put, a patient without an airway will not survive – but placement of an advanced airway device in critically ill and injured patients is a high-risk procedure, and a misplaced airway can cause permanent disability or death.
The capnography...
Heart failure, aka congestive heart failure or CHF, is a condition in which fluid builds up in the lungs and chest, making it difficult for the lungs to inflate and the heart to pump.
By Sean Hulsman
Running a cardiac arrest is arguably one of the most stressful experiences an EMS provider can have. There are many tasks to complete and interventions to monitor. The scene is often charged with emotion.
However, when all is said and done it’s the C-A-B approach which makes or breaks the treatment: high quality...
By Sean Hulsman
Sepsis carries a greater mortality rate than many diseases we consider common place like breast cancer and AIDS. Surprisingly, EMS has only recently begun to broaden training on diagnosis and treatment of patients suffering from sepsis in the field. The physiology of sepsis is very much within the realm of...
BACKGROUND: This prospective, randomized trial was undertaken to evaluate the utility
of adding end-tidal capnometry (ETC) to pulse oximetry (PO) in patients undergoing procedural
sedation and analgesia (PSA) in the emergency department (ED).
METHODS: The patients were randomized to monitoring with or without ETC in addition to...
Objective
To evaluate the role of initial ETCO2 value in prognostication of OHCA patients in an Asian-Chinese cohort.
Design
Prospective cohort study.
Setting
Emergency departments of two regional hospitals in a cluster of Hong Kong.
Patients: Patients were recruited prospectively from the local cardiac arrest registry from July...
By Sean Hulsman
As EMS battles the rising trend of opioid abuse and subsequent respiratory arrest, lives are being saved through competent control of airway and breathing. It is important that providers understand not only the mechanism and drawbacks of naloxone, but also the best way to monitor respiratory status. Waveform...