Published in EMR. Tags: chest trauma, patient assessment.
Pneumothorax is the medical term for a collapsed lung. It occurs when air enters the space around the lungs (the pleural space). This can happen when an open injury in the lung tissue causes air to leak into the pleural space. The resulting increased pressure on the outside of the lung causes it to collapse. […]
Published in EMR. Tags: bleeding, patient assessment, soft tissue trauma.
The application of direct pressure is the first and best move when the patient is bleeding The problem with bleeding is that bleeding can hide underneath patient clothing. There are times where the medics will know where the patient is bleeding from, and other times they are not sure. In order to be treated, bleeding […]
Published in EMR. Tags: bleeding.
Imagine a patient is bleeding to death, but there is no blood to be seen Internal bleeding is bleeding that occurs within the body. An injury that damages the outside of the body is easy to see. A cut or tear in the skin usually bleeds. One can see what’s hurt, and it’s easy to […]
Published in EMR. Tags: bleeding, patient assessment, soft tissue trauma.
Bleeding is the loss of blood. It can be external, or outside the body, like when you get a cut or wound. It can also be internal, or inside the body, like when you have an injury to an internal organ. Some bleeding, such as gastrointestinal bleeding, coughing up blood, or vaginal bleeding, can be a symptom of a […]
Published in EMR. Tags: patient assessment, shock and resuscitation.
The first clue is that there is no radial pulse The primary survey is how the medics actually meet the patient. During this initial meeting, the medics determine if the patient needs CPR, is conscious, has a clear airway, needs oxygen or ventilation, and is in shock. The first clue that that the patient may […]
Published in EMR. Tags: patient assessment, trauma.
Published in EMR. Tags: cardiology, pediatrics, shock and resuscitation.
Adult defibrillators are recommended after 2 to 4 minutes of consistent CPR. If blood flow has not been established with consistent chest compressions, the heart chambers will not have any blood. When the defibrillation takes place and converts the patients electrical rhythm to a viable rhythm, no blood flow will result. Without consistent chest compressions, […]
Published in EMR. Tags: cardiology, shock and resuscitation.
Cardiac defibrillation is the act of administering a transthoracic electrical current to a person experiencing one of the two lethal ventricular dysrhythmias, ventricular fibrillation (VF) or pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT). Under Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) guidelines, pulseless VT and VF are treated the same. Heart disease remains the number one cause of death in […]
Published in EMR. Tags: cardiology, shock and resuscitation.
An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia, and is able to treat them through defibrillation, the application of electricity which stops the arrhythmia, allowing the heart to re-establish an effective rhythm. With simple audio and visual commands, […]
Published in EMR. Tags: cardiology, patient assessment, shock and resuscitation.
You don’t know where to put your hands When a chest compression is performed, the weight of the chest compression is placed on the palm. The palm should be placed on the lower half of the patient’s sternum. The sternum or breastplate is the bone that connects the ribs on anterior portion of the patient’s […]