The Wrong Stuff: Prehospital Dogma
Summary by: Cliff Reid
The master of Dogmalysis himself, Cliff Reid, challenges current practices in prehospital and emergency medicine. Warning listeners to be skeptical, Cliff dissects the dogma of acute crush injuries and spinal immobilization. He also explores the false dichotomy of “scoop and run vs. stay and play”. Cliff reminds us that “not to challenge current practice is intellectually lazy”.
1. The WRONG Stuff!
Dogma in PH&RM
Cliff Reid
Director of Training
Greater Sydney Area HEMS
SMACC FORCE
Prehospital & Retrieval Pre-conference Workshop
2. !
something held as an established opinion;
a point of view or tenet put forth as
authoritative without adequate grounds
!
DOGMA
LYSIS a process of disintegration or
dissolution
9. The patient has been buried for several
hours with pressure on a limb. On admission
he looks in good condition….
Signs of renal damage soon appear, and
progress…
The urine contains albumin and many dark
brown or black granular casts…
The blood urea and potassium, raised at an
early stage, become progressively higher,
and death occurs comparatively suddenly,
frequently within a week Bywaters EG, Beall D.
Crush Injuries with Impairment of Renal Function
Br Med J. 1941 Mar 22;1(4185):427–32.
“
”
10. The patient has been buried for several
hours with pressure on a limb. On admission
he looks in good condition….
Signs of renal damage soon appear, and
progress…
The urine contains albumin and many dark
brown or black granular casts…
The blood urea and potassium, raised at an
early stage, become progressively higher,
and death occurs comparatively suddenly,
frequently within a week Bywaters EG, Beall D.
Crush Injuries with Impairment of Renal Function
Br Med J. 1941 Mar 22;1(4185):427–32.
“
”
11. The patient has been buried for several
hours with pressure on a limb. On admission
he looks in good condition….
Signs of renal damage soon appear, and
progress…
The urine contains albumin and many dark
brown or black granular casts…
The blood urea and potassium, raised at an
early stage, become progressively higher,
and death occurs comparatively suddenly,
frequently within a week Bywaters EG, Beall D.
Crush Injuries with Impairment of Renal Function
Br Med J. 1941 Mar 22;1(4185):427–32.
“
”
12. The patient has been buried for several
hours with pressure on a limb. On admission
he looks in good condition….
Signs of renal damage soon appear, and
progress…
The urine contains albumin and many dark
brown or black granular casts…
The blood urea and potassium, raised at an
early stage, become progressively higher,
and death occurs comparatively suddenly,
frequently within a week Bywaters EG, Beall D.
Crush Injuries with Impairment of Renal Function
Br Med J. 1941 Mar 22;1(4185):427–32.
“
”
13. The patient has been buried for several
hours with pressure on a limb. On admission
he looks in good condition….
Signs of renal damage soon appear, and
progress…
The urine contains albumin and many dark
brown or black granular casts…
The blood urea and potassium, raised at an
early stage, become progressively higher,
and death occurs comparatively suddenly,
frequently within a week Bywaters EG, Beall D.
Crush Injuries with Impairment of Renal Function
Br Med J. 1941 Mar 22;1(4185):427–32.
“
”
18. ACUTE CRUSH INJURY
HYPERKALEMIA
Sever MS, Erek E, Vanholder R, Kantarci G, Yavuz M, Turkmen A, et al
Serum potassium in the crush syndrome victims of the Marmara disaster.
Clin Nephrol. 2003 May;59(5):326–33.
one can speculate that many victims might have
died due to hyperkalemia before reaching the
hospitals.
“
”
26. DO NOT use a tourniquet for the first aid
management of a crush injury
Risk of deterioration so reassessment essential
27. DO NOT use a tourniquet for the first aid
management of a crush injury
Risk of deterioration so reassessment essential
iv fluids before releasing crushed body
part (especially > 4 hrs)
Consider tourniquet if not possible
28. DO NOT use a tourniquet for the first aid
management of a crush injury
Risk of deterioration so reassessment essential
iv fluids before releasing crushed body
part (especially > 4 hrs)
Consider tourniquet if not possible
Initial crystalloid bolus
Reserve tourniquets for uncontrolled
hemorrhage
31. 94/101 cervical CT imaging at
$1,570 per scan
No missed injuries
Substantial costs and increased
radiation exposure
Hospital personnel should have
confidence in pre-hospital
decisions regarding CSI
”
“
Tello RR, Braude D, Fullerton L, Froman P.
Outcome of Trauma Patients Immobilized by Emergency Department Staff, but
Not by Emergency Medical Services Providers: A Quality Assurance Initiative.
Prehosp Emerg Care. 2014 Oct 2;18(4):544–9.
37. Successful outcome after intravenous
gasoline injection
J Med Toxicol. Dec 2007; 3(4): 173–177.
!
Suicide attempt by intravenous injection of
gasoline: a case report
J Emerg Med. 2010 Nov;39(5):618-22
!
Multi organ failure following intravenous
gasoline for suicide: a case report
Acta Med Iran. 2012;50(12):846-8
38.
39. there was no significant
association between
time and mortality for
any EMS interval
”
“
40. there was no significant
association between
time and mortality for
any EMS interval
”
“
For haemodynamically stable
undifferentiated trauma
patients, increased on-scene
time and total prehospital time
does not increase mortality. !
..focus should be on the type of
care delivered and not on rapid
transport. !
”
“
42. OXYGEN FOR STEMI
Supplemental oxygen
therapy in patients with
STEMI but without
hypoxia may increase
early myocardial injury
and was associated with
larger myocardial infarct
size assessed at 6
months.
”
“
Stub D, Smith K, Bernard S, Nehme Z, Stephenson M, Bray JE, et al.
Air Versus Oxygen in ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction
Circulation. 2015 May 22.
44. HEAD INJURY DOESN’T CAUSE HYPOTENSION
RR of hypotension from isolated
head injury
2.5 (95% CI 2.0-3.2)
!
RR for hemorrhagic injury
2.7 (95% CI, 2.1-3.5)
!
in the 0- to 4-year-old group
45. The WRONG Stuff: Dogma in PH&RM
SMACC FORCE
Prehospital & Retrieval Pre-conference Workshop
ACUTE CRUSH INJURY
SPINE IMMOBILIZATION
SCOOP & RUN
OXYGEN IN STEMI
HYPOTENSION & HEAD INJURY
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