Published in EMR. Tags: neurology.
EMS role in stroke is early indentification The ambulance crew has got be on the lookout for stroke. Stroke should be strongly considered when the patient has a neurological deficit of any kind and a normal or high blood glucose level. The number one mimic of stroke is hypoglycemia; ruling out hypoglycemia is easy to […]
Published in EMR. Tags: neurology.
The type of stroke you have affects your treatment and recovery. The three main types of stroke are: Ischemic stroke. Hemorrhagic stroke. Transient ischemic attack (a warning or “mini-stroke”). Learn about the health conditions and lifestyle habits that can increase your risk for stroke. Ischemic Stroke Most strokes (87%) are ischemic strokes. An ischemic stroke happens when blood flow […]
Published in EMR. Tags: neurology.
Assessment and treatment priorities After performing a primary survey, the medics priorities for assessment and treatment of the seizure patient are: Determine if the patient is experiencing a status seizure. If the patient is still seizure by the time the ambulance makes it on scene, it’s a status seizure and requires an ALS response so […]
Published in EMR. Tags: neurology, patient assessment.
Epilepsy is a disorder of the brain. People are diagnosed with epilepsy when they have had two or more seizures. There are many types of seizures. A person with epilepsy can have more than one type of seizure. The signs of a seizure depend on the type of seizure. Sometimes it is hard to tell when […]
Published in EMR. Tags: neurology, patient assessment, psychiatric.
What is altered mental status? Altered mental status (AMS) is a disruption in how your brain works that causes a change in behavior. This change can happen suddenly or over days. AMS ranges from slight confusion to total disorientation and increased sleepiness to coma. What causes AMS? AMS can be caused by physical, psychological, and […]
Published in EMR. Tags: cardiology, neurology, pathophysiology.
What are blood clots? Your body’s arteries and veins are a superhighway system designed to transport oxygen-rich blood from your heart to the rest of your body. They then carry oxygen-depleted blood back from your body to your heart. Normally, this system runs smoothly, but sometimes you can develop a bottleneck called a blood clot. […]
Published in EMR. Tags: cardiology, neurology.
The brain is one of the most highly perfused organs in the body. It is therefore not surprising that the arterial blood supply to the human brain consists of two pairs of large arteries, the right and left internal carotid and the right and left vertebral arteries. The internal carotid arteries principally supply the cerebrum, […]
Published in EMR. Tags: neurology.
The cranial nerves are composed of twelve pairs of nerves that emanate from the nervous tissue of the brain. In order to reach their targets they must ultimately exit/enter the cranium through openings in the skull. Hence, their name is derived from their association with the cranium. The following are the list of cranial nerves […]
Published in EMR. Tags: neurology.
In 1870, Hitzig and Fritsch electrically stimulated various parts of a dog’s motor cortex. They observed that depending on what part of the cortex they stimulated, a different part of the body contracted. Then they found that if they destroyed this same small area of the cortex, the corresponding part of the body became paralyzed. […]
Published in EMR. Tags: patient assessment.
Once the patient has been loaded into the ambulance, the assessment continues. Did the patient’s bleeding actually stop? Is the patient no longer looking like they had a stroke? Is the patient becoming confused? Exactly what to look for depends largely upon what was initially found during the primary survey. The reassessment includes the primary […]