Off Branded "SAM" splints

[miscusi]

Hi, I hope everyone is having a safe tour...

I found that SAM splints can be costly, meanwhile there are some off brand padded AL splints that are of the same type at 1/2 to 1/3 the price.

anyone have experience with the generic stuff VS OEM ?

[Bosco836]

We occasionally get some here at my service. Can't say I've been terribly impressed with them. One particular off brand just seemed to be flimsy while other off brands have attracted complaints from local emergency rooms with respect to their ability to be x-ray translucent (a trait purported by the original SAM splint). That being said, I suppose this may be generic-brand specific - and my experience may not be fully representative of all generics.

In short: the only thing I order these days is the real SAM splint. Just not worth saving a few bucks over.

[miscusi]

thanks for the input. I think one of these days I will get one of each and do some testing... and the X ray issue, Im gonna read up on that too

[island emt]

buy cheap chinese crap and thats what you get

[Just Plain Ruff]

Our service one time was demo'ed off brand SAM splints. We asked about radiopaqueness and the rep said "NO PROBLEMO you can x-ray right through it, guaranteed" Well we took him up on that challenge since we were a hospital based EMS System and we took his splint down to X-ray and wrapped my arm with the sam splint and we took a forearm x-ray. All we saw was the "Off brand" Sam splint and Not a single forearm bone. It turned out that they were not radiopaque and this rep was shown the door.

But I think for the OP's original question is that he was going to use them for his personal use and not for use on his EMS truck. If he is using the splints to splint his family or friends in a disaster or initial medical emergency then I don't see any issue with him buying the off brand ones. But one CAVEAT to you Miscusi -

Use them all you want but make sure that if you hand them off to the EMS Crew who may transport the patient, let the EMS crew know that the splint may not be radiopaque so they can alert the ED. The Emergency departments might operate under the assumption that these are true SAM splints and they will waste valuable time and expense in x-raying your family member and they will have to take the splint off and put on one that is able to be x-ray'ed through.

[ERDoc]

Well, Capt, technically you did xray right through it. He never said you'd be able to see anything, lol. Just out of personal curiosity, what was his reaction to the xray? I'll admit, I get a sick sense of satisfaction when I can stump or make look foolish one of the device or drug reps. I can't get free stuff from them anymore so I might as well get something out of the interaction, lol.

Personally, most of time I just remove the splints so I can see what the injury looks like to decide on needed resources, especially at the rural place where I can't just call the ortho resident.

[Just Plain Ruff]

Well, Capt, technically you did xray right through it. He never said you'd be able to see anything, lol. Just out of personal curiosity, what was his reaction to the xray? I'll admit, I get a sick sense of satisfaction when I can stump or make look foolish one of the device or drug reps. I can't get free stuff from them anymore so I might as well get something out of the interaction, lol.

Personally, most of time I just remove the splints so I can see what the injury looks like to decide on needed resources, especially at the rural place where I can't just call the ortho resident.

His reaction was that he was "told that they were radiopaque and you could xray and see the fracture if there was one" he then went on and said he was going to take that back to the powers that be to let them know that they were not radiopaque. But me thinks that somehow he already knew it and no one had ever called him on it. It was a sort of deer in the headlight look you get from a new medic when you stump him with a patient he's never had to deal with before.

His company never returned to our service to sell us anything else.

Edited October 3, 2013 by Captain ToHellWithItAll

[miscusi]

If Sam splints are just AL and foam, and the generic is AL and foam, I wonder what it could be that makes sam radiolucent and not the generic.. hmmm

Edited October 3, 2013 by miscusi

[Just Plain Ruff]

If Sam splints are just AL and foam, and the generic is AL and foam, I wonder what it could be that makes sam radiolucent and not the generic.. hmmm

I don't know.

You know I tried to respond to your PM but you blocked me. nice way to get the last word in.

But to answer your question, I think it has to do with the material in between the foam that is a thicker metallic substance than anything. I think that if you were to take one of them and dissect it you would find that it's truly metal and not a hybrid substance. It makes me wonder what material the real SAM's use.

[uglyEMT]

The SAM® Splint is the gold standard in splints and is still Made in the USA. Built from a thin core of aluminum alloy and sandwiched between two layers of closed-cell foam, the SAM Splint can be bent into any of three simple curves, becoming extremely strong and supportive for any fractured or injured limb. The SAM Splint is incredibly lightweight (only 4.0 oz.), and no other device offers so many variations for the treatment of orthopedic emergencies.

From the horses mouth alloy is the key term here. I am looking into it a little more and will post back. Seeing if I can find which alloy is used.