Category: EMT
- Types of Burns ()
Thermal Thermal burns cause both local injuries and, if severe (> 20% of body surface area), a systemic response. The local injuries can be roughly separated into three zones of injury analogous to a circular target pattern. The innermost injury is the zone of coagulation or necrosis, representing the area of irreversible cell death. Surrounding this is […]
- Blast Injuries ()
Primary Blast Injury Primary blast injury is caused by the blast wave moving through the body. Since only high order explosives create a blast wave, primary blast injuries are unique to high order explosions. The blast wave causes damage to more extensively to air-filled organs. The resulting barotrauma can affect the lungs, auditory organs, the […]
- Animal Bites ()
Dog bites predominate (60 to 90%), followed by cat bites (5 to 20%). Children are more commonly bitten on the head, face, and neck due to their proportionately larger heads and shorter stature, while adult bites are more common on the hands and arms. Dog bites happen more in men and children. The patient usually knows the dogs, […]
- Calculating Body Surface Area ()
The Rule of Nines, also known as the Wallace Rule of Nines, is a tool used by trauma and emergency medicine providers to assess the total body surface area (TBSA) involved in burn patients. Measurement of the initial burn surface area is important in estimating fluid resuscitation requirements since patients with severe burns will have massive fluid losses […]
- Closed Soft Tissue Injuries ()
Contusion A bruise is a mark on your skin caused by blood trapped under the surface. It happens when an injury crushes small blood vessels but does not break the skin. Those vessels break open and leak blood under the skin. Bruises are often painful and swollen. You can get skin, muscle and bone bruises. […]
- More Burns ()
Burns are injuries of the skin involving the two layers: the thin, outer epidermis and the thicker, deeper dermis. 86% of burns are caused by thermal injury, while about 4% are electrical and 3% are chemical. A variety of factors guides the evaluation and management of burns. First is the type of burn such as thermal, chemical, electrical or […]
- Management Of Orthopedic Trauma ()
Pelvic fractures need to be stabilized prior to movement, however this is not always possible to even identify these injuries. Further, utilizing MAST trousers as recommended is impossible in Georgia as ambulances no longer carry them. On the market are various pelvic straps that can be used for this purpose. Despite all of these options, […]
- Assessment Of Orthopedic Injuries ()
Identifying the mechanism of injury in the scene size up is the first link to understanding the injury. Quite often, the mechanism of injury will not be significant enough to result in a cervical spine fracture but nonetheless results in a long bone fracture or dislocation. For instance, a patient could break their arm in […]
- Traction Splinting ()
The femur is the longest and strongest bone of the body, and it carries the weight of the entire body. It is the heaviest tubular bone of the body that requires high-energy force to fracture, for example, as from motor vehicle accidents. Fracture of the femur carries high-risk complications like hemorrhage, fat embolism, and infection. […]
- Dislocations ()
Dislocations are joint injuries that force the ends of your bones out of position. The cause is often a fall or a blow, sometimes from playing a contact sport. A patient can dislocate ankles, knees, shoulders, hips, elbows and jaw. Additionally, patient’s can dislocate fingers and toe joints. Dislocated joints often are swollen, very painful and visibly […]