Factors influencing emergency intubation in the pre-hospital setting--a multicentre study in the German Helicopter Emergency Medical Service.

Background: Definitive airway control by endotracheal intubation (ETI) is standard of care in pre-hospital airway management. However, there are specific factors that may influence and complicate ETI.

Methods: Prospective, descriptive study at three German Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) over a 1-yr period.

Environmental temperature stress on drugs in prehospital emergency medical service.

Background: Drugs used in prehospital emergency medical service (EMS) in principle are subject to the same storage restrictions as hospital-based medications. The prehospital emergency environment however, often exceeds these storage recommendations. Main stress factors are sunlight, vibration and extreme temperature, which may lead to alteration in chemical and physical stability of stored pharmaceuticals, as well as microbiological contamination and concentration enhancement of pharmacological inserts.