Mass Casualty Incidents and Trauma Triage While we as paramedics are equipped to deal with many different emergencies, our abilities are...

The skin is the largest organ in the body, serving as a barrier to infection, a surface for sensation, and as a means of thermal...

Musculoskeletal Trauma: When bones break there is damage to the structural continuity itself, the blood vessels that both enter and...

Paediatric body weight in kg = age x2 + 10 Paediatric BP: Normotension = SBP >90 + age x 2 Hypotension = SBP <70 + age x2 O2 Tank...

Shock index The shock index is a predictive tool, used to determine risk of negative outcomes in unstable patients. Shock index = HR /...

ETCO2 Notes Remember: H+ + HCO3 <--> H2CO3 <--> CO2 + H2O Kidneys Blood Lungs What does ETCO2 Show us?: ETCO2...

ABDOMINAL TRAUMA: As mentioned in earlier posts, trauma has two flavours: penetrating and blunt force. This applies to the abdomen just...

ECG Review: The cardiac conduction system: Impulses are generated in the SA node. From here it travels down to the AV node where it is...

Thoracic Trauma: The thoracic cage consists of the ribs, costal cartilage, sternum, and thoracic vertebrae. It houses the lungs, heart,...

Obstructive airway diseases: Obstructive airway diseases are characterized by diffuse obstruction of airflow within the lungs. The most...

Head and Spinal trauma: The skull is a closed cavity, consisting of several fused bones. Externally it is covered by muscle tissue,...

SHOCK: Shock is a term used to refer to a state of inadequate tissue perfusion, leading to cellular hypoxia, anaerobic metabolism, and...

TRAUMA The Trauma Assessment: Unlike the medical assessment which places emphasis on the patient history and subjective data, the trauma...

ABDOMINAL PAIN: Few areas of the body present us with the challenge we face when assessing the acute abdomen. The Stomach, Small...

As an aside, I wanted to post some resources I have round useful to enhance my knowledge base: Podcasts: EMS 20/20 Harrison's Podclass:...

Altered level of awareness/altered level of consciousness is a call that really should get your heart rate up. Unlike the other symptoms...

Dyspnea, the subjective experience of difficult breathing, is a common complaint in the ED and prehospital setting. As a presenting...

Chest pain is probably the number one reason people go to the ED, and it makes up a significant number of 911 calls. Although the chief...

While syncope may seem benign, it makes up a reasonably high number of 911 calls. There are 3 major causes of syncope; 2 of which are...