Questions tagged [emergency]
Questions regarding emergency medical care and treatment.
43 questions
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 ...
- 323
17
votes
2
answers
262
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 ...
- 493
11
votes
2
answers
600
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 ...
user12041
10
votes
1
answer
204
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 ...
- 2,270
8
votes
1
answer
963
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 ...
- 233
8
votes
1
answer
183
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?
...
- 874
7
votes
2
answers
595
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 ...
- 231
7
votes
1
answer
126
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 ...
- 10k
7
votes
1
answer
124
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 ...
- 71
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 ...
- 471
6
votes
1
answer
451
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 ...
- 379
6
votes
1
answer
204
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-...
- 379
5
votes
1
answer
463
views
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 ...
- 151
5
votes
1
answer
1k
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 ...
anon
5
votes
0
answers
65
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 ...
