EMS Today

Supraglottic Airways: A Look From Above

Advanced airway management in EMS systems around the country ranges from surgical airways to laryngoscopy, either video or direct, to the use of a supraglottic airway (SGA) device. As a “blind” airway device, the King Airway has largely replaced the Combitube as the civilian and military SGA of choice due to its design and ease of use. However, over the past decade, there have been many other SGAs, particularly iterations of the laryngeal mask airway (LMA), that have come to market. It is the wide and varied options for an SGA that have necessitated this evaluation as we hope to provide guidance to EMS agencies in choosing a device for their service.

Read the full article here.

’Call Jumping’ in Rural EMS

Bram Duffee, PhD, EMT-P, discusses “call jumping” in rural EMS with Latimer Hoke, M.Ed, NR-AEMT, who is a first responder and educator.

Article discussed: Hoke, L. (2023, August 22). Not Truly Off-Duty: True ‘First’ Responders in Rural Areas. Journal of Emergency Medical Services. https://www.jems.com/operations/not-truly-off-duty-true-first-responders-in-rural-areas/

Connections: If you want to connect with the Latimer Hoke you can reach him at latimerhoke@gmail.com and to connect with the show, reach out through www.ProfessorBram.com.

Achieving Long-Term Goals

In this episode we talk with Devin Howell, DO, AEMT-CC, about his journey from EMT to EMS medical director.

Resuscitation of Acute Decompensated Pulmonary Hypertension

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a chronic disease associated with significant morbidity and mortality, responsible for approximately 15,000 deaths per year in United States.

The deleterious cardiac effects associated with PH (e.g. Right Ventricular disease) render this population particularly susceptible to decompensation. Hypoxemia, acidosis and hypercapnia are not well tolerated in PH and will acutely increase pulmonary artery pressures, leading to hemodynamic collapse.

Read the full article here.

’I Couldn’t Keep That a Secret Anymore’

Eric Chase sits down with Oklahoma City Fire Department Lieutenant Danny Brown as he shares his story of failure and brokenness and how support from his wife, fire family and counseling helped him to realize it's ok to let go.

Dr. Bryan Bledsoe on Traumatic Cardiac Arrest

On this episode, Dr. Bryan Bledsoe joins the podcast to discuss a January article from JEMS, which he co-authored with Dr. Jeff Salomone, titled "Traumatic Cardiac Arrest (TCA): Maybe We Could Do Better?"

Additionally, we discuss his introduction to writing textbooks and his views on EMS education moving into the future.

Proper Assessment and Treatment of Acute Respiratory Distress

Management of acute respiratory distress isn’t an exact science. Good patient outcomes rely on your ability to assess ventilation, oxygenation, work of breathing (WOB), lung function, airway resistance and air flow. The number of treatment choices is increasing, and they’re becoming more complex. Does your patient need medication, suctioning, airway management, ventilation, intubation, non-invasive ventilation or just close observation?

Some practices of the past served only to disguise deterioration. With everything available to today’s EMS provider, you need some pearls of wisdom for effectively assessing and successfully treating patients having difficulty breathing.

Read the full article here.

High-Flow Nasal Cannula: It’s Not Just a Bunch of Hot Air!

Not every patient experiencing a moderate level of hypoxemic respiratory failure does well on a high-flow nasal cannula. (Photo courtesy Hamilton Medical AG)When I first started as a hospital respiratory therapist, the nasal cannula was our go-to low-flow (LFNC) device, designed to deliver an FiO₂ of approximately 24 to 44% at flows of 1 to 6 liters per minute. When patients needed more oxygen, we would typically consider a face mask using a humidified large volume nebulizer to deliver 35-50%. A tandem setup could deliver upward of 80-90%. When more oxygen was necessary, we had the NRB (non-rebreather) mask.

Read the full article here.

STAT Financial Health: Side-Hustles and Starting a Small Business

In this episode of the STAT Financial Health: EMS Personal Finance podcast, we talk with Amy Eisenhauer, also known as The EMS Siren, about starting a side-hustle or small business while working in EMS. 

Mosquito-Borne Diseases in the News

Infection control consultant Katherine West identifies mosquito-borne diseases and gives prevention measures for EMS providers.