EMS Today

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.

Introducing the Not A-Fib Podcast

Mark Flauter introduces the first episode of his "Not A-Fib" podcast and discusses his role as deputy chief of EMS for the Florissant Valley (MO) Fire Protection District.

Mark highlights several issues facing EMS, including personnel retention, leadership, career development, education, recruitment and mental health.

Next month's episode features Dr. Bryan Bledsoe. He invites listeners to share their thoughts and concerns about EMS either on Instagram or email.

The Pet Peeves of EMS

Dov and Raphael get into some of the worst pet peeves that EMS responders experience. They happen to us all, in every profession, but in EMS when lives are in the balance, pet peeves take on a whole new meaning.

Give a listen and write in the comments some of the pet peeves that you've experienced on the job. We'd love to hear from you what really gets your goat on the job.

Together, we may not be able to solve them, but we can all identify with them and empathize with one another.

Compelling Tellings from Expellings

We all have it, some of us use it, but few use it to its full potential. I’m referring to the measurement of end-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO₂). The objective of this presentation is how to tell from those “expellings” the best way to optimize survival after cardiac arrest (CA). Our objectives will be to measure and use ETCO_2, as an invaluable guide to resuscitation care.

Read the full article here.