Hypercapnia, also known as hypercarbia or carbon dioxide toxicity, causes dangerous levels of CO2 in the blood. In most cases, it signals a respiratory problem such as poor lung function, but it can also happen among deep divers, particularly when they do not breathe adequately, or have contaminated oxygen supplies. 

Knowing the signs and symptoms of carbon dioxide toxicity can save lives and equip medical personnel and first responders to act quickly.

We’re heading into winter soon, with temperatures dropping, snow falling to the ground and people planning warm weather getaways. Regardless of the climate, however, emergency medical personnel must navigate a host of patient emergencies, while also protecting themselves and their equipment from adverse weather conditions. 

While the mortality rate of aspiration pneumonia depends on complications of the disease, the 30-day mortality rate hovers around 21%, with a higher rate of  29.7% in hospital-associated aspiration pneumonia. For uncomplicated pneumonia, the mortality rate is still high, hovering around 5%.

These stats mean that first responders, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers should always treat aspiration pneumonia as a medical emergency with a high mortality risk. Diligent airway management can prevent aspiration pneumonia in many emergent and surgical scenarios, and prompt emergency intervention can reduce aspirate volume in people actively aspirating. 

Few EMS procedures are as important as tracheal intubation. This procedure can also be challenging, and not just for novice providers. If skills are not initially mastered and frequently practiced, intubation success rates plummet and placement of an advanced airway doesn't occur. 

When your patient cannot mobilize and clear secretions on his own, you may need to suction his airway. Your method of suctioning will depend on whether the patient has an artificial airway and what portion of the airway needs to be cleared.

Maintenance, Practice and Preparing for Different Patient Scenarios

There are many unpredictable outcomes that can occur during airway suctioning, so it’s important to practice with a range of different products, techniques and practice codes when conducting trainings with your team. Using training equipment that allows for realistic simulations of emergency suctioning scenarios will arm your team with the strategy necessary to perform treatment steps effectively and accurately in various high-stress situations.

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.