Recent content by medicasaurus

Problem is that C-Collars also have unwanted effects such as decreasing cerebral venous return and increasing intracranial pressures. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12121154 emj.bmj.com/content/18/5/380.full

BC Ambulance treatment guidelines in British Columbia, Canada. New addition of TXA as of this month. http://bctg.bcas.ca

The key thing to the Military is the population and location that these treatments are being applied to. A Med Tech (PCP-IV) in Canada cannot intubate but for the purpose of the mission in Afghanistan were trained and allowed to do so. Those guys and gals are not allowed to perform intubations...

If you can take a Phamacology course, that way you get credit for learning about them.

We are licensed through the Emergency Medical Assistant Licensing Board (EMALB). The Treatment Guidelines are driven by the provincial ambulance service (BC Ambulance) and are endorsed and supported by EMALB.

We have EPOS in BC now... which is a Doctor on call to discuss treatment options or to determine discontinuation vs transport in cardiac arrest. It is also used to discuss cases of intoxicated refusal and the like. However my treatments are my own and other than to discuss cases (particularly in...

I think a key thing with the Canadian experience is that from what I have read, the EMT-B program in the US is a 120-200hr course. This would put the course in the EMR(Emergency Medical Responder) range in Canada. My PCP-IV course was around 800 course hours. Here is a students breakdown of the...

Here in Canada D10W is the go to for a hypoglycemic and I have seen many patients fully regain consciousness on less than 250ml (25mg). Our guidelines here in BC is to bolus with reassessments for LOC every 100ml (10mg) and I would say it is rare to run in the entire 250ml as a bolus with most...

You can tape a warm pack to the side of the fluid after having it inside your jacket. This is how it was done on a Nepal Expedition I was on, IV therapy at 18,000ft and sub zero temperatures can be done. Head lamps work fine for light and a piece of wire around a tent pole to hang the bag...

"PREHOSPITAL RSI AS SAFE AS HOSPITAL RSI" http://www.scancrit.com/2014/01/05/prehospital-rsi-safe-hospital-rsi/ Key thing is "When done right"

2 X PCP per BLS Ambulance 2X ACP per ALS Ambulance(some are "Depaired" with 1 PCP and 1 ACP) 1 X ACP per ALS Primary Response Unit (SUV) 2 X Critical Care Paramedic to make up a CCP team (flight or CC ground transfers) Students "ride third" on trucks Some rural area's run EMR's (180hr...

Remember breathing is your connection to the autonomic nervous system... when your feeling amped up/shaky just remember to take some deep breaths. All of us can only do so much in a given situation; sometimes outcomes are good, sometimes not.

I don't understand what the rush for the C-Collar is... seriously the guy is in cardiac arrest. Most likely due to mechanical asphyxiation so my priorities would be trying to work that water out and maintaining the airway. I probably wouldn't even think C-Collar unless I got pulses back.

Yes we do, used it today and it worked well but it would be benificial to have other options. I love our treatment guidelines system but agree we are lacking in other area's. The 12 lead is the thing I would see as providing the greatest patient benefit in early recognition of abnormal...

Zofran and some better pain control are top of the meds list for me... however I would much rather see ECG interpretation in B.C. and cardiac monitoring. These are diagnostics in place with every other PCP unit in Canada. Toronto implemented a PCP STEMI protocol in 2008 and has shown high...