EMS use of CPAP for respiratory emergencies
Arthur Hsieh, MA, NRP - EMS1.com Columnists - CPAP for emergency management of congestive heart failure and other respiratory emergencies has become the standard of care - The use of continuous positive airway pressure, commonly called CPAP, for the emergency management of congestive heart failure is rapidly becoming the new standard of...
COPD exacerbation: 5 things EMS providers need to know
Bob Sullivan - EMS1.com Columnists - Understand how monitoring tools can be used to guide treatment for COPD exacerbations - This article was originally posted Jan. 27, 2017. It has been updated with new information. - Approximately 16 million Americans have been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and millions more...
Single pressure CPAP vs. bilevel pressure CPAP: The rest of the story
EMS1 Contributor - Understanding the pathophysiology of difficulty breathing and different methods of delivering airway pressure - By Steven C. LeCroy, MA, CRT, EMTP - In the late 1970s, legendary broadcaster Paul Harvey started each show with, "You know what the news is, in a minute you're going to hear the rest of the story.”...
5 things to know about capnography
Bob Sullivan - EMS1.com Columnists - Understand the importance of monitoring end-tidal carbon dioxide and the valuable information it provides for patient assessment and treatment - This article, originally published April 27, 2015, has been updated with new information. - Waveform capnography is used at all EMS provider levels to...
Tension Pneumothorax: Identification and treatment
EMS1.com Columnists - Tension pneumothorax is a life threatening condition that can occur with chest trauma and is more likely to happen with trauma involving an opening in the chest wall - Tension pneumothorax is a life-threatening condition that can occur with chest trauma when air is trapped in the pleural cavity leading to a...
Hyperoxia: Too much of a good thing
Limmer Education - EMS1.com Columnists - Three significant consequences of routine, excessive oxygen administration - By Chris Ebright - Oxygen. We love it, and it keeps us alive. The atmosphere contains 21% oxygen, and we exhale, on average, 16%. Thus, with the billions and billions of cells within our body, they operate using only 5%...
'Do it for Drew' by checking and rechecking tube placement
EMS1.com Columnists - The family of a teen who died after an esophageal intubation has started the 'Do It For Drew' foundation to prevent another tragic death - By Bradley Dean and David Hughes - Drew Hughes, 13, died unexpectedly and tragically a few hours after sustaining a head injury while skateboarding. On June 29, 2013 a young...
Treat the monitor, not just the patient
Tim Nowak, AAS, BS, NRP, CCEMTP, SPO, MPO, CADS - EMS1.com Columnists - In some cases, our medical monitoring equipment alert is the precursor to a rapidly deteriorating patient who appears normal - We’ve all heard the saying “treat the patient, not the monitor.” Well, that might be true in most instances, but there are certainly...
