Prehospital Surgical Airway Management Skills in a Rural Emergency Medical Service System.

Background: The objective of this study is to describe the education, training, and use of prehospital surgical airways in a rural Emergency Medical Service (EMS) system.

Materials And Methods: We conducted an internet-based survey instrument of all advanced life support (ALS) EMS agencies in a seven-county rural EMS system in Pennsylvania. ALS agencies were queried regarding basic demographic information as well as the number of surgical airways performed in the previous 10 years as well as the education and training of EMS providers in surgical airways.

An unusual presentation of spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma.

We report a rare case of spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma. Various presentations may occur, most commonly including neck pain, interscapular pain, radicular pain, and paralysis. This condition is frequently associated with paralysis and long-term disability.