Prehospital Care

Prehospital Care

Emergency Physician Awareness of Prehospital Procedures and Medications

Volume 15, Issue 4, July 2014
Rachel Waldron, MD et al.

Maintaining patient safety during transition from prehospital to emergency department (ED) care depends on effective handoff communication between providers. We sought to determine emergency physicians’ (EP) knowledge of the care provided by paramedics in terms of both procedures and medications, and whether the use of a verbal report improved physician accuracy.

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Prehospital Care

Expansion of U.S. Emergency Medical Service Routing for Stroke Care: 2000–2010

Volume 15, Issue 4, July 2014
Natalie Hanks, MS et al.

Organized stroke systems of care include preferential emergency medical services (EMS) routing to deliver suspected stroke patients to designated hospitals. To characterize the growth and implementation of EMS routing of stroke nationwide, we describe the proportion of stroke hospitalizations in the United States (U.S.) occurring within regions having adopted these protocols.

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Prehospital Care

4,871 Emergency Airway Encounters by Air Medical Providers: A Report of the Air Transport Emergency Airway Management (NEAR VI: “A-TEAM”) Project

Volume 15, Issue 2, March 2015
Calvin A. Brown, MD et al.

Pre-hospital airway management is a key component of resuscitation although the benefit of pre-hospital intubation has been widely debated. We report a large series of pre-hospital emergency airway encounters performed by air-transport providers in a large, multi-state system.

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Prehospital Care

Ambulatory Cardiac Monitoring for Discharged Emergency Department Patients with Possible Cardiac Arrhythmias

Volume 15, Issue 2, March 2014
Donald Schreiber, MDCM et al.

Many emergency department (ED) patients have symptoms that may be attributed to arrhythmias, necessitating outpatient ambulatory cardiac monitoring. Consensus is lacking on the optimal duration of monitoring. We describe the use of a novel device applied at ED discharge that provides continuous prolonged cardiac monitoring.

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Prehospital Care

Improving Bariatric Patient Transport and Care with Simulation

Volume 15, Issue 2, March 2014
Brad D. Gable, MD, MS et al.

Obesity is prevalent in the United States. Obese patients have physiologic differences from non-obese individuals. Not only does transport and maintenance of these patients require use of specialized equipment, but it also requires a distinct skill set and knowledge base. To date, there is no literature investigating simulation as a model for educating pre-hospital providers in the care of bariatric patients. The purpose of this study was to determine if a 3-hour educational course with simulation could improve paramedics’ knowledge and confidence of bariatric procedures and transport. This study also examined if prior experience with bariatric transport affected training outcomes.

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Contact Information

WestJEM/ Department of Emergency Medicine
UC Irvine Health

3800 W Chapman Ave Ste 3200
Orange, CA 92868, USA
Phone: 1-714-456-6389
Email: editor@westjem.org

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WestJEM
ISSN: 1936-900X
e-ISSN: 1936-9018

CPC-EM
ISSN: 2474-252X

Our Philosophy

Emergency Medicine is a specialty which closely reflects societal challenges and consequences of public policy decisions. The emergency department specifically deals with social injustice, health and economic disparities, violence, substance abuse, and disaster preparedness and response. This journal focuses on how emergency care affects the health of the community and population, and conversely, how these societal challenges affect the composition of the patient population who seek care in the emergency department. The development of better systems to provide emergency care, including technology solutions, is critical to enhancing population health.