Just Plain Ruff Posted April 10, 2009 Posted April 10, 2009 (edited) I'm getting ready to go off shift, but I'll respond to all answers tonight when I get back to work. Called to the scene of a family gathering. On arrival you are met by a male who states that everyone got sick about the same time. Main complaints are Vomiting. You are a small hospital based EMS system, running 2 24 hour ambulances. You have another service in your county with a ALS crew and a BLS crew. You have a helicopter based at your hospital. Closest additional units are 25 minutes (1 unit), 40 minutes(3 units), 45 minutes(2 units) and 5 additional helicopters all within 60 minutes away. Your hospital has a 9 bed ER and works with 3 nurses and one EMT at Triage. It is clear without a cloud in the sky. It is also spring time. Edited April 10, 2009 by Ruffems
brentoli Posted April 10, 2009 Posted April 10, 2009 How many is everyone? Where is the gathering at? Indoors, outdoors? What are the symptoms being shown?
Just Plain Ruff Posted April 10, 2009 Author Posted April 10, 2009 How many is everyone? Where is the gathering at? Indoors, outdoors? What are the symptoms being shown? Family reunion in the park 65 family members but only 35 are sick at this time. Venue - park shelter but the group has the park almost to themselves - about 3 acre park, one playground, one small fishing pond. Symptoms vary from nausea to vomiting, unresponsive to agitated.
FireMedic65 Posted April 10, 2009 Posted April 10, 2009 What kind of food? Properly cooled? Any fish/chicken/meat that could have spoiled?
WolfmanHarris Posted April 10, 2009 Posted April 10, 2009 1) Triage. Aside from the unresponsive patient do I have anyone else that would not be considered a green tag? 2) If no other Red priority patients one medic will begin assessment of that patient. I'd like findings from a standard primary assessment please. 3) Other medic can begin corraling the other minor patients (provided no other serious patients) and attempt to obtain incident history. 4) Can you paint me a better picture for scene size-up Ruff? How bad do they look (degree of distress, etc?) 5) 35 people is a large amount to transport if they are all N/V with no other symtpoms. I'm going to request a city bus or school bus to respond for transport with a medic escort. Nothing more specific from me until I have a better handle for what's going on.
Chief1C Posted April 10, 2009 Posted April 10, 2009 Odors, near by municipal structures to release gases, etc? Eating any wild picked plant life? We had a small MCI w/ 15 victims, after they ate a plant, they incorrectly identified.
EMS Solutions Posted April 10, 2009 Posted April 10, 2009 Any recent landscaping, chemicals to treat grass, shrubs?
brentoli Posted April 10, 2009 Posted April 10, 2009 I saw a mystery diagnosis along these lines. I won't share it.
crotchitymedic1986 Posted April 10, 2009 Posted April 10, 2009 Although it is possible for everyone to have been exposed to the flu at the same time, that is usually not the case. I would look for another cause, with the most obvious ones being food poisoning, carbon monoxide poisoning, or other poisoning.
HERBIE1 Posted April 10, 2009 Posted April 10, 2009 Any recent landscaping, chemicals to treat grass, shrubs? That's the way I'm leaning. Picnic in the park, spring day, probably recently treated by pesticides/fertilizers, etc. I'd also begin to worry about possible decon here-did they accumulate the poison by touch, contact or ingestion, etc. Watch for S/S of possible organo-phosphate poisoning.
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