Prehospital and Retrieval Medicine – THE PHARM dedicated to the memory of Dr John Hinds

A novel publication goes to enrich the long-living debate on direct laryngoscopy (DL) vs video laryngoscopy (VL) efficacy in emergency intubation.

The recent article, pubblished on JEMS and titled  “Deploying the Video Laryngoscope into a Ground EMS System” ,compares the success rate beetwen DL vs VL in a ground EMS Service. The device used was the King Vision with channeled blade. The partecipants had a prior training on the divide, consisting in didactic orientation and practical skills on manikins.

The result of the study shown that “Within the first 100 days of the study, the video laryngoscope utilizing the channeled blade has shown to be at least as effective as DL in relation to first-attempt success” and considering that “the mean experience in our group with DL is nine years, yet the success rate remains unacceptable” “It’s time to consider transition from a skill that’s difficult to obtain and maintain…

Blessed the emergency systems who train their professionals with simulation

Blessed the emergency professionals who challenge themselfs day by day in simulation

Facing their fears to win their weakness

Improving the quality of their work for the good of all patients

They are the future of emergency medicine

Shame on emergency systems who don’t train with simulation

Shame on emergency professionals who don’t have the umility to challenge themselfs

Running from their fears and weakness

Compromising the quality of their work and the health of the patients

They will disappear from emergency medicine panorama

Inspiring discussion on Twitter (Minh Le Cong@rfdsdoc, Karim Brohi @karimbrohi and Peter Sherren@PBSherren)

The topic:

Your hypotensive blunt/penetrating trauma patient with associated severe TBI needs a vent. How do you set it and how you achive your physiological goals?

Is it possible to mantain eucapnia, avoiding hypercapnic insult to the brain, using low minute ventilation strategy and not depressing stroke volume with high intrathoracic pressure?

“Permissive hypoventilation” in a swine model of hemorrhagic shock.

Conclusions: Although permissive hypoventilation leads to respiratory acidosis, it results in less hemodynamic suppression and better perfusion of vital organs. In severely injured penetrating trauma patients, consideration should be given to immediate transportation without PPV.

But what if we have concomitant severe TBI? How can we avoid respiratory acidosis and hypercapnia (due to hypoventilation) and conseguent insult to the brain?

Is PEEP…