EMS Curriculum Should Educate Beyond a Technical Scope of Practice: Position Statement and Resource Document.

Position Statement and Resource document approved by the NAEMSP Board of Directors on April 27, 2021.

How Does Rescuer Fitness Affect the Quality of Prolonged Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation?

High quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is crucial for patients experiencing cardiac arrest. CPR quality declines within the first few minutes of CPR performance. Being more fit is associated with higher CPR quality, yet the fitness parameters needed remain uncertain.

Prehospital amputation: An experimental comparison of techniques.

Objective: Prehospital limb amputation is a rare but potentially life-saving intervention. When patients cannot be extricated due to limb entrapment or have hemodynamic compromise that precludes a prolonged extrication, they may benefit from an emergent prehospital amputation. The objective was to experimentally compare three prehospital amputation techniques on porcine legs.

Comparing the Efficacy of Methods for Immobilizing the Cervical Spine.

Study Design: This was a prospective simulator study with 16 healthy male subjects.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the relative efficacy of immobilization systems in limiting involuntary movements of the cervical spine using a dynamic simulation model.

Summary Of Background Data: Relatively few studies have tested the efficacy of immobilization methods for limiting involuntary cervical movement, and only one of these studies used a dynamic simulation system to do so.

Comparing the Efficacy of Methods for Immobilizing the Thoracic-Lumbar Spine.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the relative efficacy of immobilization systems in limiting thoracic-lumbar movements.

Methods: A dynamic simulation system was used to reproduce transport-related shocks and vibration, and involuntary movements of the thoracic-lumbar region were measured using 3 immobilization configurations.

Results: The vacuum mattress and the long spine board were generally more effective than the cot alone in reducing thoracic-lumbar rotation and flexion/extension.

Helicopter transportation in the era of thrombectomy: The next frontier for acute stroke treatment and research.

Purpose: Many patients suffer a stroke at a significant distance from a specialized center capable of delivering endovascular therapy. As a result, they require rapid transport by helicopter emergency medical services, sometimes while receiving a recombinant tissue plasminogen activator infusion (drip and ship). Despite its critical role in the new era of reperfusion, helicopter emergency medical services remains a poorly evaluated aspect of stroke care.