In our last post we looked at some of the causes of hypothermia, both typical and atypical. Then we talked a bit about the recognition of the
hypothermia progression and what patients might look, feel and act like as they progress through their hypothermic condition.
Now let’s look at some of the guidelines for treating our hypothermia victims.
On the surface, treating hypothermia might seem deceptively simple. The treatment of mild hypothermia often is simple. Bring them in, stop the cooling and rewarm them. But as we progress into moderate and severe hypothermia, things get more complicated. Here are 12 guidelines to consider when the patient is more than just a little chilled.
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I would surely rank the nasopharyngeal airway (NPA) as one of the most under-rated / under-utilized pieces of equipment in the EMT bag of tricks. They’re useful, simple and versatile. As a group, we tend to do a pretty good job 
oxygenating our patients, but I think we drop the ball on BLS airway adjuncts.
Most of our unresponsive or semi-responsive patients should be arriving at the ER with an NPA in place. If you’re bagging a patient they should have one … maybe two NPAs in place.
They’re fast, they’re friendly, they work much better on the semi-conscious and they don’t stimulate the gag reflex quite like their cousin the oropharyngeal airway. They also stay in place better, leaving the mouth open for examination and advanced airway techniques.
I’ve often had EMTs explain that they didn’t drop a basic airway adjunct because they knew I was right around the corner and I’d be intubating. That’s a poor excuse. When I arrive on scene I’d like to see that the EMT at the head has managed the BLS airway aggressively.
So let’s bone up on our NPA skills. Once you’re comfortable with these little beauties, they only take a few seconds to drop. You don’t need to make it a big production. Grab the right size, squirt a clump of KY on the end and go.
So let’s break it down and make you an NPA, quick draw, master.
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