Restraining patients

[Medic253]

Let me count the ways.

1- PD gives them some new silver bracelets.

2- Versed or Valium are my friend

3- Triangle bandages to the stretcher.

4- Reeves stretcher with or without new jewelry.

[Neb.EMT]

We have the option of soft or chemical restraints. Personally, if I have any choice in the matter I'll go chemical.

[GAmedic1506]

EVERYONE, PLEASE GOOGLE "DEATH BY EMS" (a merginet article). You will learn all you need to know about restraints in the EMS setting. And yes, most of us are doing it wrong.

http://www.merginet.com/tgp/1998/9803/miller-9803.shtml

[ncmedic309]

Here's more on the articles that GAmedic was referring to...

RESTRAINT ASPHYXIA

[hfdff422]

I just had the most violent person I could imagine last night. She was so out of control that it took 2 cops, 3 firefighter, and myself to restrain her well enough to secure her to the backboard. Being BLS drugs were not an option, so soft restraints were the only route we could go. She was spitting, biting and cursing at everyone and would not cooperate with us to facilitate a history or assesment. There was blood on her face, she had been found in someones yard that had never seen her before, and had assumed that she was the victim of an assault. We were assuming she was on something or had a head injury (later cat scan showed no signs of head injury).

As to restraining her, we used a backboard with three straps, one roll of kerlex per wrist and ankle, a c-collar with exaggerated taping of the head, and a NRB as a combination O2 delivery device and spit deflector. She was unable to move and was secured in the same manner that any trauma victim would be. The only problem was being unable to get a BP, but it would not have been accurate anyway due to the constant screaming and attempts to move. I was able to assess pulses (extremities were critical due to restraint), respirations and made sure she had a patent airway (the screaming helped in my assesment).

She had not stopped her rant after being in the hospital for 20 minutes and getting 100cc of something- I am not sure what as it was my student rider that overheard what it was.

[SSaint]

The other night I had a fairly violent pt myself.

29 yo male pt, hx of pych disturbance (bi polar), no meds, in a fender bender. The woman he hit panicked and called 911 for a few scratches on her bumper.

We roll up to find this guy all kinds of pissed off. A LEO arrived on-scene and calmed him so we could examine him.

It's against protocols for us to restrain, unless a LEO does it. But we get inventive, especiallyif they MAY get combative.

We ended up finding a reason to backboard this guy