Automated BP cuffs

[Dustdevil]

Ok. I am assuming that you work PB as a basic. I also work PB as a basic.

English please?

[Guest]

Simple enough..thanks Ace

[Guest]

English please?

Oh yeah, I overlooked that...what the hell is PB?

[Ace844]

Oh yeah, I overlooked that...what the hell is PB?

"angel@others,"

PB= Paramedic/Basic as in the staffing of an ambulance at the ALS level without the use of 2 medics, it is used in my area for both emergent and non-emergent txp's...though it is frowned upon for 911 use...We like to have 2 medics to make an ALS EA here....

Hope this helps,

Ace844

[andrean678]

Ace,

Considering you have a quote from a wems bumper sticker on your signature, I am guessing that you are not THAT far away from where I am. Alot of services use PB in this area.

[temsp40]

I have never used an auto-BP takerizer thingy -- mostly because I have never had the option. I personally feel that there is no reason not to take a manual BP on a patient, although yes, a machine might be easier, I think that would cause your care to deteriorate over time because you are relying on a machine to do a very basic function of EMS.

I am against their use in the prehospital setting where the patient to provider ratio is usually 1:1, and in all care one must remember that good BLS skills provide for good ALS skills.

Now, if you are in a service that routinely does transfers an automatic BP machine might be nice, but not necessary, I have worked for transfer services that you can do long transports (hours) and sometimes the patient is really boring and wants to sleep........

--Angelkiss, I am just curious to know, what types of BLS calls are you running where it is that difficult to obtain a manual BP?

--Ace844, that is a very interesting article summary you have there, and I think it is very interesting that these machines are as accurate as the providers taking the manual BP's.

[Ace844]

Ace,

Considering you have a quote from a wems bumper sticker on your signature, I am guessing that you are not THAT far away from where I am. Alot of services use PB in this area.

"andrean678,"

I am in the area, and I have worked in the state for quite awhile. PB staffing here isn't all that prevelant when compared to other areas across the nation. It was alloewed here to help Als services remain "at the ALS level" when paramedic staffing was hard to come by. OEMS here goes through cycles where they are quite liberal with the application of this "staffing waiver" and others where it revokes and cracks down on them... Any ?'s please see the applicable AR on the MA OEMS website, or post them. Although I am not quite sure what you're trying to assert in your post, so please clarify...!?!??!

It's been my experience that they are used here mostly "transfer" and when/if another P is available to staff that ALS truck, the basic gets bumped....I'm quite familiar with both the area and how it works thank you.

>>>"Temsp40"

It is only one study and until there are more which validate it, I would take it with a "grain of salt" as to their accuracy. Anecdotally I have found them over the years in my practice to be notoriously inaccurate.....

out here,

Ace844

[andrean678]

What I was trying to "assert" is that alot of towns in region 2 use PB for their 911, that's all. There has been a post somewhere pro and con against PB staffing somewhere, and I am not going to get in an argument with you about it. It's really not worth my time. :roll:

[Nate]

I worked a part-time gig with a service where almost every basic seemed to have either stolen an old BP machine, bought some sort of BP machine from Walgreens or CVS, or had some reason why they couldn't take one for me when we were in the heat of things.

I think the automated ones on the LP12's suck donkey balls. They are so freaking inaccurate, and it really drives me up the wall when people turn the LP12 on just to get a pulse ox and a BP becasue they are to lazy to take a pulse by hand or listen for a BP. So I think they are bad because it makes medics freaking lazy.

I'll believe my partner or my own reading over a machine any day.

[Dustdevil]

Never heard of PB or EA either, for that matter.

I thought you were just dyslexic or something. :?

Anyhow, I have only used one electronic BP thinger in the field, and that was at a flight service over a decade ago. It was quite accurate and perfectly reliable. And I never experienced any significant problems with the electronic machines in hospital practice. I hear a lot of people slamming them, but nobody saying they have actually had first-hand problems with them.

Funny how something as tried and true as these machines get slammed, while dubious devices like pulse oximeters, and worthless crap like the ear thermometers get praised by the same people.

And yeah, there are plenty of times when either the ambient noise or chaos preclude easy BP auscultation in the field. Even more times when you simply have other things to do with your only two hands. They were great devices when I last used them. And I can only imagine that they have gotten smaller and better in the last decade. Unless you are going to give me a full-time partner who does not have to drive also to do it for me, I would like to have the device available.