Wounds and Hemorrhage
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen This chapter will discuss the role of the EMS physician in the treatment of acute wounds and hemorrhage. As a first responder, a physician should be…
Field Triage and Transport Decision Making
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen The daily operations of EMS systems focus on providing care and transport to individual patients with (usually) unlimited resources. This approach allows prehospital providers to attempt…
Blunt and Penetrating Trauma
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Trauma and injury account for 182, 479 deaths in 2007, with approximately 31,224 due to penetrating injuries, that is, firearms, and 65,474 secondary to blunt mechanisms,…
Head Injury and Spinal Cord Injury
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Head and spinal cord injuries require special care and consideration. Rapid assessment, stabilization, extrication, and transportation to definitive care are the primary EMS objectives to facilitate…
Care of an Entrapped or Entangled Victim
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen The most common source of entrapment and entanglement in most locales is the motor vehicle collision. Other potential sources include industrial accidents and agricultural incidents. It…
Obstetric and Gynecologic Emergencies
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Obstetric and gynecological issues are a common reason for patients to seek urgent and emergent care. The most significant of these for the prehospital provider involve…
Cardiovascular Emergencies
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Heart disease has been the leading cause of death in America for over 80 years. An estimated 935,000 people in America suffer a myocardial infarction each…
Environmental Injuries
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen EMS providers often encounter patients who have become victims of environmental emergencies. Even in urban areas, patients may suffer from heat- or cold-related illnesses. In more…
Pediatric Patients
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children.∼Dietrich Bonhoeffer Infants, children, adolescents, and young adults create a unique population…
Emergency Vehicles
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen There are a variety of specially designed and equipped vehicles in service as part of the emergency response system in almost every community in North America….
