Intubation forms a cornerstone of advanced airway management, giving patients oxygen in emergency situations and the surgical suite, in addition to providing long-term breathing support for critically ill patients. Patients will need both immediate and longer-term support following intubation, regardless of the reason for the procedure. Monitoring patients during intubation and providing appropriate follow-up care and support can improve outcomes as well as quality of life. 

You are called to a residence in the middle of the night. A frantic father meets you at the door and ushers you upstairs to his son’s room, where you find a four-year-old boy perched anxiously on the side of his bed. He is braced in a tripod position, his small arms rigidly fixed by his side as he leans forward, drooling into a puddle on the floor. The father noticed a fever last night when he put the boy to bed, but is astounded by the child’s rapid deterioration.

Whether you’re a doctor, nurse, or EMS professional, treating patients in an emergency scenario is stressful and exhausting work. Competent, compassionate care often requires working as quickly as possible while minimizing needless distractions. Many providers skip lunch and breaks, ignore their own personal needs, and work hour after hour in frigid temperatures or on empty stomachs.

Although it may seem like COVID-19 is the only respiratory disease crisis on medical professionals’ radar, influenza and pneumonia season is around the corner, and doctors worry that it may be more severe than people expect.

Oral suctioning in a controlled environment is one thing, but as a first responder, this is a luxury that just doesn’t happen very often. For patients with an airway emergency requiring intubation, you rely on equipment that is efficient, rugged, and safe in order to quickly and safely intubate and secure your patients’ airways. Effective suctioning makes a difference – perhaps even a life-saving difference – in a resuscitated patient.

When transporting a critically ill patient, it’s easy to focus only on the medical emergency. But ambulance crashes are common; more than 6,500 ambulance crashes occur each year, claiming an average of 33 lives annually. Ambulance safety depends on taking proactive steps to mitigate risk in the event of a crash.

Shifts for paramedics and emergency medical technicians can last as long as 24 hours. It’s no surprise that a day-long shift can include a lot of activity, especially in communities with limited EMS services or larger populations.