Leaderboard

I hear ya, Richard. Although-with all the bitching and moaning we do among ourselves- fire vs EMS, single role vs cross trained, etc- we still ARE a family. Any time someone needs a hand, who's the first to step up when we need it? Same for police. We have a great relationship with our police officers- they are great. As dysfunctional as we all are, who else would want to hang with us? LOL

I'm not sure about long term transport with patients, or interfacility pysch transports, but if someone is extremely hostile, or if I think they will be hostile our protocols allows 10mg of versed IM. This is only if they have to go with us to the hospital and are not a refusal. (i.e. suicide attempt etc. etc.) I am quick to use it...I have a daughter to go home too, and at that point I don't care to struggle any longer with them. I find it weird that pysch patients are being flown in helicopters via EMS, that's crazy!

What is with my generation??? Read that post out loud to whoever is in the room with you and watch their reaction. I think you are trying to discuss rural EMS but I can not be sure. I am a rural EMS buff and would like to discuss whatever you are bringing to the table ... but please for the love of god, proofread your posts people.

Chain of Survival Although it is an important link in the Chain of Survival, CPR alone cannot fully resuscitate a person in SCA. Early defibrillation is the third and perhaps most significant link. Most SCA victims are in ventricular fibrillation (VF), an electrical malfunction of the heart that causes the heart to twitch irregularly. Defibrillation, the delivery of an electrical shock to the heart muscle, can restore normal heart function if it occurs within minutes of SCA onset. When CPR and defibrillation are provided within eight minutes of an episode, a person's chance of survival increases to 20%. 1 When these steps are provided within four minutes and a paramedic arrives within eight minutes, the likelihood of survival increases to over 40%. 1 Defibrillation, the Key to Survival According to the American Heart Association (AHA), in cities where defibrillation is provided within 5-7 minutes, the survival rate from SCA is as high as 49%. 1 The AHA also cites that after automated external defibrillators (AEDs) were placed at Chicago's O'Hare and Midway Airports, 9 out of 14 SCA victims (64%) were revived with an AED and had no permanent neurological damage. However, the availability of AEDs in locations such as airports, airplanes, offices, community centers, and other public places is an evolving trend. The process began almost forty years ago, when the time-sensitivity of SCA and the importance of pre-hospital care first captured the attention of Dr. J.Frank Pantridge. ALS an hour away? We would load and go and get to the hospital and not wait for an als intercept if it was that long.

We have pacing capabilities, but there is no provision in our ALS protocols for pacing in PEA. I never said a 10 min transport time is long, I simply stated that had we transported, it would have taken at least 10 minutes. 7 rounds of epi? We have and can give up to 10 rounds of epi as indicated per protocol. I dont understand why you say we need to "look at our protocols". What would have been done differently in the ambulance that couldnt be done in the home?? In fact, I would certainly argue that it would be better to say on scene since better quality CPR can be performed on a hard, flat, non-moving floor, as opposed to a shaking, bouncing, moving ambulance. :wink:

What does that even mean? I could walk before you were even a sperm in your drunk daddy's balls. Are you being intentionally dense? First of all you keep talking about Atropine like it is used for any heartblock. I don't know what they teach you in the Caribbeans, but here in the states we prefer evidence-based medicine. Atropine in 3rd degree blocks is well documented to cause a cardiac arrest.