Did you ever watch the old Star Trek TV show? No of course you didn't, but this is just you and me talking here right? OK, remember when something would threaten the ship. The captain's first … [Read more...]
Rapid Diagnosis: Pinpoint Pupils
April 23, 2009 By 20 Comments
Abnormally constricted or "pinpoint" pupils are a great finding for our rapid diagnosis series. There are many things that can cause the pupil to abnormally dilate. Very few things will make the pupil … [Read more...]
Describing Pain
April 9, 2009 By 6 Comments
Take a moment to increase your pain vocabulary It's been said that the Inuit have over a hundred words to describe snow. Linguists use the number to explain something significant about how we see … [Read more...]
Lesson From The Street: Skin Doesn’t Lie
March 13, 2009 By 1 Comment
I hope you're sitting down for this. I trust that a good number of my readers do indeed sit while surfing the internet so I'm just going to tell you this strait up. Sometimes ... patients lie. They … [Read more...]
Understanding Combative Head Injuries
March 7, 2009 By 11 Comments
Big biker dude strained against the double layers on tape across his forehead and it occurred to me that the act of c-spine seemed pointless if the patient insisted on fighting violently against the … [Read more...]
7 Signs That Say “Do Not Resuscitate”
February 17, 2009 By 18 Comments
It is a moment in time that you will certainly face at some point in your EMS career. Most of us will face this decision many times over throughout our tenure. Should I attempt resuscitation? Is … [Read more...]
Assessing Dehydration
February 6, 2009 By 1 Comment
Dehydration can be a real concern with our infant patients and the signs can often be subtle, like dry mucosal membranes and a lack of tears while crying. One reliable indicator of the progresson … [Read more...]
Remembering The Glasgow Coma Score
February 5, 2009 By 22 Comments
It's a basic skill that many advanced caregivers struggle with. The patients who need accurate Glasgow scores tend to be critical. You're moving fast. You've got a lot of priorities on your mind and … [Read more...]
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