Simple Yet Effective-Sterile Water Injections to Treat Labor Pain in the Transport Environment.

Sterile water injections (SWI) is a nonpharmacologic pain relief option to treat back pain in labor. This case report describes and discusses the use of SWI in the context of an obstetric retrieval of a 29-year-old woman who was transferred by the Royal Flying Doctor Service South Eastern Section. It provides an overview of SWI, discusses the relevance for medical transport, and offers suggestions for medical transport professionals.

Pericardiocentesis for COVID-19 Associated Cardiac Tamponade Using a Central Venous Catheter in Rural Australia: A Case Report.

Pericardiocentesis is a high-acuity, low-occurrence procedure rarely performed by emergency and retrieval clinicians. We present a case of cardiac tamponade secondary to coronavirus disease 2019 managed with prehospital pericardiocentesis in remote Australia, 800 km from the nearest hospital. This was performed using a quadruple-lumen central venous catheter.

A Cross-Sequential Study of the Effect of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on the Risk of Anxiety and Depression of Royal Flying Doctors Staff, an Australian Air Medical Organization.

Objective: This cross-sequential study examines whether the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic affected the mental health of staff working at an Australian air medical service, the Royal Flying Doctors Service South Eastern (RFDSSE) Section.

Methods: The risk of anxiety and depression was measured using a prospective anonymized online survey using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, which was answered by 119 employees. This cross-sequential study was completed in December 2021 with reference to 2 time points: now and the beginning of the pandemic.

Erector Spinae Block for Chest Trauma in Aeromedical Prehospital and Retrieval Medicine.

Pain management for patients with chest trauma in aeromedical prehospital and retrieval medicine is important in order to maintain respiratory function. However, it can be challenging to achieve with opioids alone due to side effects including sedation, respiratory depression, and nausea.Reported are two trauma patients with uncontrolled pain despite multiple doses of opioids managed with a single-injection erector spinae plane block (ESB).

Autistic Man Falling Through the Cracks: Advanced Patient Transport and the "Pop-up" Recovery Ward.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service was tasked to relocate a 19 year-old autistic patient with severe social anxiety, agoraphobia, and morbid obesity from one residential location to another. The retrieval team was confronted with two main challenges: 1) Continuous risk elevation in an elective patient transportation as distinct from other urgent prehospital transfers of mental health patients; and 2) prehospital ketamine/propofol sedation of an aggressive/combative patient with recovery from sedation in a private property. The transfer accomplished the successful relocation of the patient.