Questions tagged [emergency]

Questions regarding emergency medical care and treatment.

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Detecting a medical emergency based on the symptoms the patient presents

Are there standard rules or references for deciding whether a patient has a medical emergency, based on the symptoms the patient report? Are those standard rules international? Details I am in Germany ...
DaveFar's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
74 views

Would an injection into the neck be useful for quick application of a drug?

This might be the wrong place to ask, but I'm working on a story where the main character has a chronic condition that is usually managed by medication. However, on the off chance they run out of ...
Geoffrey Williams's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
115 views

Removing an impaled object without a doctor

We all know (or at least, we should) that you should never remove an impaling object. Keep the object as still and stable as possible, and wait for the EMT/doctor/surgeon/whatever to do it. But what ...
HiddenWindshield's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
68 views

Can esophageal obstruction cause choking?

Does this ever happen (for any age) in emergency (CPR) situations? If so, how can one determine that the obstruction is esophageal and not tracheal and how does one apply CPR in this case? Thank you.
SAL's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
464 views

Can iodine purification tablets be used to prevent absorption of radioactive iodine (tetraglycine hydroperiodide, potassium iodide)

Can one use iodine tablets made of tetraglycine hydroperiodide to protect yourself from radiation poisoning in an emergency? If so, how much should one take? The CDC recommends adults take 130mg of ...
Michael Altfield's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
321 views

Alternative sources of iodine for radiation emergency

One approach to reduce long-term health effects from a nuclear radiation emergency is to take potassium iodine. The typical dosage is 130 mg daily. As the need for iodine pills is very rare and their ...
jpa's user avatar
  • 201
1 vote
0 answers
23 views

Why is there a difference between venous bicarbonate and bicarbonate in ABG?

Lets say a serum blood test shows bicarbonate of 20mmol/l but an ABG of 15mmol/l, both tests taken 3 minutes apart in a person with acute metabolic acidosis with compensation. Can anyone explain why ...
Kaktus12345's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
33 views

Complete torso/lung impalement, object still present - Do I have it right?

I hope this is the right Exchange. For background, I do have official military combat trauma training and official civilian first aid training but the particulars of Scenario 3 below have me wondering ...
HDL_CinC_Dragon's user avatar
5 votes
0 answers
64 views

What is a semi-hollow organ?

This question was taken from an NREMT (EMT certification) test I took and will have to re-take, so the context is emergency medicine/first response. It asked me to list some semi-hollow organs. This ...
WhatAreSemiHollows's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
59 views

Emergency defibrillation

A typical defibrillator is basically capacitor and a pair of electrodes and circuits. There are AEDs that can detect whether defibrillation is required or not. But what if cardiac arrest(due to ...
Regulus's user avatar
  • 23
3 votes
2 answers
65 views

Crystalloid infusion during anaphylactic shock

My text book states that intravenous crystalloid infusion is a method of treating anaphylactic shock. I can't get why, as there is no fluid loss in case of anaphylactic shock, at least that is what ...
Asmaa's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
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Are there any recommended or prescribed time limits for ambulance to reach a juvenile patient in case of emergency?

When I look for ambulance and how fast it should come, I find information regarding allowed driving speed. However, for planning hospitals and roads, one should no how much time is on average ...
J. Doe's user avatar
  • 241
2 votes
1 answer
93 views

Tips on identifying CVA patients

In my work, not once i encounter old people with deterioration and i am having hard time deciding if does symptoms may be related to CVA or not and if a neurologist should be called. I will explain ...
Alon's user avatar
  • 121
2 votes
1 answer
83 views

How does fluid temp impact glucose uptake in hypoglycemia?

I recently asked How to mark beverage cans in a cooler for a blind person? on a sister site. One of the answers made this unreferenced claim. The last thing you want to do close to ...
James Jenkins's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
788 views

Can a radiology technician spot an emergency?

When medical imaging is performed, such as MRI, the results are usually relayed to the patient by the doctor who ordered it. This is usually hours, days, or even weeks later. But what if something ...
healthy_man's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
41 views

UK Accident and Emergency Roles

I need some help with a novel I'm writing. My character is a highly-experienced surgeon, working on a UK Accident and Emergency ward, who also trains those coming up through the ranks. In a USA ER, ...
GGx's user avatar
  • 121
7 votes
1 answer
107 views

Emergent gastric ischemia

I saw a news item today that said this: The state medical examiner’s office ruled Tuesday that the death of a Trinity student in November was accidental and caused by a rare stomach disorder ...
Carey Gregory's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
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When a person is seriously injured, what's the point of CPR?

I have taken CPR training and I have a question about it. Sometimes one reads in the newspaper about a person injured in a car crash or anything tried CPR in vain. I'm asking when a person is ...
Christine's user avatar
  • 133
0 votes
1 answer
266 views

Necessity of break-the-glass for accessing patient electronic health records in emergency [closed]

I wanted to find out if the break-the-glass method is really needed where an emergency physician would use it to access a patient's electronic health record in the event of an emergency. Since an ...
synthesis's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
131 views

Contraindications for administrating oxygen

As the title says, what are contraindications of providing a patient oxygen in the emergency system outside of hospitals?
Narusan's user avatar
  • 6,772
6 votes
3 answers
4k views

Can a otherwise healthy person request a "do not resuscitate" order?

In NY State, in the USA, If an otherwise healthy person has a do not resuscitate order and has a heart attack and the ambulance comes, will they just let him die like that? Or is do not resuscitate ...
larry909's user avatar
  • 481
1 vote
1 answer
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Why is treating hepatic vein injuries so difficult?

I've read a few ER room stories on quora where trauma surgeons would dictate their real life accounts. One of them said about a accident victim who was very much alive , conscious and talkative. Upon ...
Allahjane's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
32 views

Correct english term for an urgent referral

I am translating a Swedish text, and I am having problems translating the term "akutremiss" to British English. The term is commonly used in Swedish healthcare. It is basically a referral, of any type,...
Henrik Söderlund's user avatar
11 votes
2 answers
521 views

In an emergency situation, how does the medical doctor determine that an unconscious patient is pregnant?

If I were to be in a car accident, or something similar, I know that certain tests would be performed either by the first responders or by the medical personnel in the emergency room. Like checking my ...
user avatar
20 votes
6 answers
6k views

What to do if someone breaks a bone?

I was wondering today about what someone should do immediately after either they or someone else had a fractured / broken bone. What first aid / steps should be taken after this happens? Is this ...
schizoid04's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
40 views

How highly trained are paramedics in Hong Kong?

Relating to the paramedics within the Hong Kong Fire Services Department.
J C's user avatar
  • 313
0 votes
1 answer
45 views

Is it right to say that any syncope is a result of low perfusion to brain?

Is it right to say that always syncope is a result of low perfusion to brain, or low blood pressure? (I know that there are a lot of secondary reasons such as vassovagal or cardiac issues, but if I ...
Ubiquitous Student's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
107 views

Is there any medical value when a care provider talk to his trauma patient?

Is there any medical value when a care provider talks to a trauma patient to keep the patient conscious? It's well known that in cases of trauma (in physical medicine) always the paramedic or ...
Ubiquitous Student's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
15 views

Average Number of Sutures per E.R. visit

I'm trying to gather data for a bioengineering project, but I'm finding difficulty locating the statistic of the average number of sutures per visit, for E.R.'s. Does anyone know how to find this data?...
Paul Lemus's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
48 views

Conceptual differences between urgent, emergency, planned, unplanned, elective and acute care

I have a bunch of health care terms between which I would like to disambiguate the relationships. A concept map or diagram would be really appreciated since I think better that way. Terms are: ...
Kaleb's user avatar
  • 121
1 vote
1 answer
60 views

If people can create an accelerated medical program that can be completed in just three years, what textbooks should they select in the curriculum?

Imagine a third-world country with a lack of doctors. They should start to treat patients as soon as possible even if they did not take full courses in biochemistry, histology, anatomy, biostatistics, ...
Sammy's user avatar
  • 11
4 votes
1 answer
873 views

Why does breathing stop during cardiac arrest?

I've been reading about resuscitation, and found several suggestions that people don't continue breathing after effective heart function stops because the diaphragm quickly runs out of oxygen. Is ...
Lysander's user avatar
  • 379
1 vote
0 answers
26 views

Where to find a medical alert system without monthly payment?

I have been using alert1 for awhile, but recently my liabilities increase as my daughter suddenly got divorce. I am not sure how long will this last, but I plan to replace my mom's medical alert to ...
newToMed's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
190 views

Mechanical cardio resuscitation for asystole

We have great machines for shocking a heart out of various malfunctions. But my understanding is that the only "machine" indicated for restarting a heart that has completely stopped (i.e., "flat-...
Lysander's user avatar
  • 379
6 votes
1 answer
409 views

Can Manual External Defibrillators "restart" a heart?

On TV it appears that every time a heartbeat monitor flat-lines they pull out the paddles of a manual external defibrillator (MED) and give a few shocks, often explicitly cranking up the output when ...
Lysander's user avatar
  • 379
2 votes
1 answer
104 views

What to do if someone on video chat needs medical help

I live in Iowa and I am talking to a person in Idaho (or anyone in a different state), and the person on the other end experiences a sudden illness and needs EMS, what is the best way to get services ...
traisjames's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
928 views

Why are backboards no longer used as spinal immobilization devices?

I'm a member of the National Ski Patrol, and this year at the OEC refresher we were told (repeatedly) that EMTs no longer use backboards as immobilization devices, so we shouldn't be surprised if ...
user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
120 views

Why is defibrillation commenced before CPR in ventricular fibrillation?

I know CPR is usually commenced before defibrillation in a medical emergency, however we learned that defibrillation should be done before CPR in the case of ventricular fibrillation. Is there a ...
Emma's user avatar
  • 71
8 votes
1 answer
612 views

Is it safe to drink urine when you have nothing else to drink?

What if there was a situation where someone had no water to drink or food to eat. Would it be safe for them to drink their own urine? What are the possible risks of doing this? Could there be any ...
Shashank's user avatar
  • 233
10 votes
1 answer
195 views

Multi-parameters monitors: pediatric vs. adult mode

We often use a multi-parameters monitor to monitor the victim's pulse, SpO2 and blood pressure1. When using these devices on children, we have to switch them to 'pediatric mode' first. And for blood ...
Shlublu's user avatar
  • 2,260
17 votes
2 answers
230 views

What's the rush in the case of sudden hearing loss?

I've heard from both an ENT (ear, nose, and throat doctor) and an audiologist (hearing specialist) that in the case of sudden hearing loss, time is of the essence, and the patient should be seen as ...
Shokhet's user avatar
  • 493
8 votes
1 answer
174 views

How safe are backboards?

I have heard a fair amount of talk recently about how safe the long spine boards frequently used by EMS personnel after falls and car accidents are. How many - if any - studies have been done on this? ...
L.B.'s user avatar
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