Recent content by Akulahawk

A sepsis alert (in or out of hospital)... It also starts a clock as to determining if these interventions are necessary at all. Sepsis alerts are generally called based on certain vital signs criteria. So if one meets criteria by VS and has a likely source of infection, then calling a sepsis...

From the perspective of someone who does both Charge and MICN (think answers radio) in the ED... I actually do (mostly) like how my local EMS agency handles sepsis alert patients. It's mostly a notification measure for me in the ED as I have to consider flow of patients through my ED and that...

Seasoned providers? Where? :eek:

This has less to do with "fluid responsiveness" and more to do with how the EMS system determines whether a sepsis alert is called in the field and THEN how they're to deal with it. If a patient meets their sepsis alert criteria, they're required to initiate a 500 mL bolus regardless of what the...

This is not an intubated patient. The protocol asks about EtCO2. One can obtain this from an EtCO2 equipped nasal cannula. So, no vent mode is necessary with these patients. In the field, few have vents so vent mode is manual if the patient is intubated. Then again, if the patient is intubated...

As stated above, a small amount of fluids (250-500 mL) may help some with BP by allowing some vasomotor relaxation. It may also help a little bit with HR, both from the body noting a slight rise in blood volume. Generally speaking, at my facility, when we get a sepsis alert patient (this one...

Something to remember about your meds: you are allowed to give them via your protocols. You should spend a decent amount of time getting familiar with the meds your agency/EMS system authorizes you to administer. Get to know how they work. Get to know what their onset time is. Get to know how...

Another stand-in is lamb shanks...

On that note, at least we're not having to deal with a heliox blend during transport...

Given how sick a patient on NO would need to be to require NO, I'd be more concerned about transporting that patient than I would be about the NO/O2 blend itself. With appropriate training, is it in the RN scope? IMO, yes. Is an RT going to be more of an expert in managing the vent while the...

Chuck Norris didn't die. He leveled up. Upon reaching the gate to Heaven, it opened up for him of its own accord. Why? Chuck Norris doesn't open gates or doors. They open for him...

Another possibility is that they've attempted multiple times to transfer her out, arranged for a room, etc... only to have the "discharged" patient refuse the ride when transport shows up to do the transfer. If she's alert, oriented, and has capacity, she can legally refuse transport. It's...

What I'd want to know is when, exactly, did the patient suddenly become considered a "resident" or "tenant" of the hospital vs being a patient admitted for medical care and then becoming a "trespasser" after refusing to leave following discharge from the hospital (assuming all discharge...

I think you just ALMOST answered your question. You seem to be answering the question from a background that suggests essentially a little more than an advanced EMT level understanding. If you take time to understand the underlying physiology of the problems, then the answer to how much fluid...

People in EMS are, well, people. We all process the experiences we have in ways that are as varied as people in other stressful jobs.