Among non-medical professionals, when someone is diagnosed with pneumonia, it’s generally just that — pneumonia is pneumonia. But that’s just a broad label for a life-threatening infection of the lungs. There are multiple causes for the disease, and by some measures, as many as 30 types of pneumonia, although they fall under larger groups.

Endotracheal intubation offers life-saving relief when an airway obstruction endangers a patient’s life. Yet many first responders have little experience with endotracheal intubation. Some even actively avoid training opportunities because they feel overwhelmed and intimidated by the process. Endotracheal intubation is a basic skill that every first responder must master. 

While it does pose some risks, it is also safe with the proper technique and diligent attention to the patient. A keen understanding of airway anatomy can make the process of intubating a patient much easier.

It’s a dramatic plot twist in movies, medical dramas, and even the occasional sitcom: A character is choking or in respiratory distress and standard interventions like the Heimlich maneuver just aren’t cutting it. So a heroic bystander takes things into their own hands and jams a pen into the victim’s throat, much to everyone’s horror. But then, to everyone’s shock and relief, doing so clears the airway, allowing the survivor to breathe until help arrives. But can you really do this?

Although the placement of chest tubes usually falls to physicians, many healthcare workers—be they paramedics or nurses—have had to care for patients with chest tubes in place, either in a hospital setting or during transport. Chest tubes are a critical factor in certain respiratory emergencies, so let’s review the indications for placement and some of the dangerous complications you can avoid when caring for such patients.

Your BLS engine company is dispatched to a “difficulty breathing” call and your ALS rescue is still in the process of delivering their previous patient to the hospital. Dispatch is sending the next closest rescue, but the responding unit has just notified you that they are held up by a train.

You arrive on scene, grab your O2 bag and jump kit and head inside. You and your fellow EMTs are on your own, at least for the next several minutes. You had better be prepared to assess and initiate treatment for a patient in respiratory distress!

After a successful intubation, your patient is mechanically ventilated with a patent airway and his vital signs stabilize. Then, while transporting your patient, you notice a sawtooth pattern to the ventilator waveform. The patient’s cough is not “junky” and his oxygen saturation remains stable.

You may be thinking your patient needs some sedation to help him synchronize with the ventilator. But hold on—perhaps you are missing something.

At SSCOR, we pride ourselves on providing suction that lasts — both in our devices’ consistent performance during each use and the machines’ long lifecycles. 

Each of those characteristics are enhanced with routine maintenance, of course. Emergency medical personnel are well aware their equipment must remain as close to new condition as possible — and, not to mention, sanitized.

Every good nurse knows that the job involves much more than simply treating the patient’s current illness or injury. Instead, nurses should try to anticipate potential complications that could arise for their patients and implement measures to prevent them from happening.

CPR, ACLS, NRP, PAL. As a nurse, you are likely familiar with some, if not all, of these acronyms. Early in your career, you were taught the skills to resuscitate a patient in cardiac or respiratory arrest. Every few years, you attend a class to review and renew your certification.