Prehospital Care: Pearls & Pitfalls
Today’s prehospital care providers confront a wide variety of medical and traumatic emergencies and need to possess a strong foundation of medical knowledge. Once the only therapy available for an out-of-hospital emergency medical situation was a ride to the hospital; now much of the interventional capability of the emergency department has been moved into an ambulance staffed with highly trained individuals.
Prehospital Care: Pearls and Pitfalls, is a unique, stimulating, and easy-to-read reference, providing practical information applicable to the prehospital setting in a question and answer format.
SECTION I EMS – OVERVIEW, DESIGN, AND OPERATIONS
Chapter 1 History of Emergency Medical Services
Chapter 2 EMS System Design
Chapter 3 The Prehospital Environment
Chapter 4 Prehospital Communications
Chapter 5 Destination Guidelines and Hospital Designation
Chapter 6 Documentation
Chapter 7 Medicolegal Issues
Chapter 8 Emergency Vehicle Operation
Chapter 9 Public and Media Relations
Chapter 10 Ethics in EMS
SECTION II MEDICAL DIRECTION
Chapter 11 Medical Direction—Overview
Chapter 12 On-Line Medical Direction
Chapter 13 Off-Line Medical Direction
Chapter 14 Continuous Quality Improvement
SECTION III PERSONAL SAFETY AND WELLNESS
Chapter 15 Well-Being of the EMS Provider
Chapter 16 Scene Safety
Chapter 17 Infectious Diseases Exposures
Chapter 18 Critical Incident Stress
SECTION IV DISASTERS, MASS CASUALTY INCIDENTS, AND MASS GATHERINGS
Chapter 19 Incident Management
Chapter 20 Disasters and Mass Casualty Incidents
Chapter 21 Small-Scale Multiple Casualty Incidents
Chapter 22 Weapons of Mass Destruction—Chemical
Chapter 23 Biological Terrorism
Chapter 24 Weapons of Mass Destruction—Radiologic
Chapter 25 Weapons of Mass Destruction—Explosives
Chapter 26 Mass Gatherings
SECTION V CLINICAL CARE
Chapter 27 Decision Making and Critical Interpretation of Vital Signs
Chapter 28 The Prehospital Patient Assessment
Chapter 29 Electrocardiogram Interpretation
Chapter 30 Cardiac Dysrhythmias
Chapter 31 Cardiac Arrest
Chapter 32 Overview of Shock
Chapter 33 Chest Pain
Chapter 34 Acute Coronary Syndrome
Chapter 35 Altered Mental Status
Chapter 36 Acute Neurologic Emergencies
Chapter 37 Hypertensive Emergencies
Chapter 38 Seizures
Chapter 39 Fever
Chapter 40 Abdominal Pain
Chapter 41 Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage
Chapter 42 Vomiting and Diarrhea
Chapter 43 Dyspnea
Chapter 44 Extremity Pain and Trauma
Chapter 45 Overdose and Poisoning
Chapter 46 Hypothermia and Frostbite
Chapter 47 Heat Illness
Chapter 48 Altitude Illness
Chapter 49 Obstetric and Gynecologic Emergencies
Chapter 50 Allergy and Anaphylaxis
Chapter 51 Diabetic Emergencies
Chapter 52 Psychiatric and Behavioral Emergencies
Chapter 53 Management of the Violent Patient
Chapter 54 General Trauma Principles
Chapter 55 Head Trauma
Chapter 56 Spinal Cord Injuries
Chapter 57 Neck Trauma
Chapter 58 Thoracic Trauma
Chapter 59 Abdominal Trauma
Chapter 60 Pelvic Trauma
Chapter 61 Interpersonal Violence
Chapter 62 Thermal Burns
SECTION VI PEDIATRICS
Chapter 63 Assessment of the Pediatric Patient
Chapter 64 Field Approach to Infants and Children
Chapter 65 Seizures in Children
Chapter 66 Respiratory Distress in Infants and Children
Chapter 67 Pediatric Trauma
Chapter 68 Child Abuse and Nonaccidental Trauma
SECTION VII SPECIAL SITUATIONS
Chapter 69 Water Emergencies
Chapter 70 Decompression Illnesses
Chapter 71 Wilderness Emergency Medical Services
Chapter 72 Lightning
Chapter 73 Bites, Stings, and Envenomations
Chapter 74 Tactical Emergency Medicine
Chapter 75 Hazardous Materials
Chapter 76 Technical Rescues
SECTION VIII AEROMEDICAL TRANSPORT
Chapter 77 Air Medical System Design and Configuration
Chapter 78 Aeromedical Transportation: Physiology of Altitude
SECTION IX PREHOSPITAL SKILLS AND INTERVENTIONS
Chapter 79 Prehospital Interventions: What Really Works
Chapter 80 Intravenous Access
Chapter 81 Prehospital Airway Management
Chapter 82 Pharmacologic Agents in Airway Management
Chapter 83 PASG
Chapter 84 Needle Decompression
Chapter 85 Immobilization and Splinting
Chapter 86 Prehospital Pain Management
Chapter 87 Ultrasound in the Field