What is EMS in trauma?

These resources include informed citizens, communications systems, prehospital care providers and multidisciplinary trauma teams in emergency departments. With the inclusion of public information, prevention activities and rehabilitation, this coordination of resources is called an EMS/trauma system.

When should you not backboard a patient?

Those who do not require a backboard include those with:

• Normal level of consciousness (Glasgow Coma Score 15)
• No spine tenderness or anatomic abnormality.
• No neurologic findings or complaints.
• No distracting injury.
• No intoxication.

What is trauma immobilization?

Background: Spinal immobilisation involves the use of a number of devices and strategies to stabilise the spinal column after injury and thus prevent spinal cord damage. The practice is widely recommended and widely used in trauma patients with suspected spinal cord injury in the pre-hospital setting.

Are nurses considered EMS?

As the debate over requiring a degree for paramedic education heats up, I want to clarify one thing: EMS is not the same as nursing, or respiratory therapy, medical assisting, radiography or any of the other dozens of allied health fields.

What can EMS do?

An emergency medical service (or EMS) is a service providing out-of-hospital acute care and transport to definitive care, to patients with illnesses and injuries which the patient believes constitute a medical emergency. An informed public that knows what to do in a medical emergency.

Do backboards benefit blunt or penetrating trauma patients?

So what is the final verdict on backboards, collars, immobilization and EMS? It is clear that for patients with penetrating trauma do not backboard. Provide spinal motion restriction and consider placement of a collar as appropriate.

Should EMS use backboards?

Long backboards are commonly used to attempt to provide rigid spinal immobilization among EMS trauma patients. However, the benefit of long backboards is largely unproven. The long backboard can induce pain, patient agitation, and respiratory compromise.

What is a concern while caring for the patient who is completely immobilized to a long backboard?

“The long backboard can induce pain, patient agitation, and respiratory compromise. Further, the backboard can decrease tissue perfusion at pressure points, leading to the development of pressure ulcers.”

What is neurogenic shock?

Neurogenic shock is a condition in which you have trouble keeping your heart rate, blood pressure and temperature stable because of damage to your nervous system after a spinal cord injury.

Is the backboard a useful spinal precautions for EMS?

While the backboard is a useful spinal protectio … EMS spinal precautions and the use of the long backboard – resource document to the position statement of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma Prehosp Emerg Care. Apr-Jun 2014;18(2):306-14.doi: 10.3109/10903127.2014.884197.

Should trauma patients be immobilized to a backboard?

In addition to the very low probability of trauma patients having an unstable spinal injury, there is now significant evidence that the traditional method of immobilizing a patient to a rigid long backboard causes a range of complications including new onset back pain, respiratory compromise, and pressure ulcers. [4,5,6]

Is it better to transport a patient on a backboard?

For intrafacility transport, it’s preferable to transfer them on the mattress or stretcher rather than transport on the board,” he said. The backboard is sometimes used to extricate a patient, but that does not mean he has to be transported on a backboard, Dr. Kupas said.

Is the backboard effective for field spinal immobilization?

The backboard has been a component of field spinal immobilization despite lack of efficacy evidence. While the backboard is a useful spinal protection tool during extrication, use of backboards is not without risk, as they have been shown to cause respiratory compromise, pain, and pressure sores.