[POLL] Use of backboards

[Secouriste]

Hello fellow EMTs, paramedics, nurses, docs...

I'm making a little poll about the use of backboards in the US! If you are outside the US, please post in this topic to indicate your country

I would greatly appreciate to have you vote in each of the 3 questions and of course you can share any idea/opinion on the matter here.

Thank you in advance!

Edited March 31, 2015 by Secouriste

[paramedicmike]

Locally they use collars, LSBs and head blocks routinely. I think much of their use is driven by overzealous EMTs following protocol. When asked why the collar and board in a patient with no neck pain the EMTs simply say, "Protocol says..." and walk away.

Being on the receiving end of a BLS driven 911 system has certainly been eye opening. That, however, is a different discussion entirely.

[Arctickat]

I'm in Canada and voted. We recently implemented a spinal protocol that essentially eliminates spineboards with the exception of extrication. Even then we remove the patient as soon as practical. C-Collar stays on though.

Edited March 31, 2015 by Arctickat

[Secouriste]

Thank you for your inputs!

"We recently implemented a spinal protocol that essentially eliminates spineboards with the exception of extrication."

=> What else do you use for immobilzation then?

"Being on the receiving end of a BLS driven 911 system has certainly been eye opening."

=> It's mostly the case in France. If we imagine that, for a whole day, there are only lesser injuries, no doctor will be involved in the process (in France, we don't have ALS, it's either BLS or doctors that respond) during that day. That being said, every dispatch center has a doctor you can talk to if there is a doubt on what to do.

We use the backboard as soon as we suspect a spinal trauma. Some team leaders tend to overuse them too...

Also, when we cover events we sometime have to carry the pt for several minutes before we can reach the rescue station (in the case of music fesitvals etc...), in that situation the backboard is really useful.

[medicmole]

In BC we use Canadian C-spine rule to determine whether or not a patient requires c-spine motiion restriction (ITLS ;-)). If they do require SMR we have the choice of long board or clamshell, most people I know prefer the clam as it is more comfortable and the aptient does not slide around as much as on the long board.

Word is we will be following Saskatchewan's lead and putting fewer patients on any kind of hard device.

[Arctickat]

Here is the info regarding our recent change.

http://www.collegeofparamedics.sk.ca/cme/spinalmanagement.php