Respiratory emergencies are among the most critical patients you will encounter as an EMS professional. If the patient is unable to maintain airway patency, or you are unable to correct the underlying issue, there is no hope for his or her recovery. And when these critical situations are compounded by complications in the field, your patient's chances are reduced even further.

When we think of critical suction scenarios, we tend to envision our most serious patients: the elderly cardiac who arrested at a local restaurant, having just finished a hearty meal; the multisystem trauma patient involved in a high-speed, head-on collision; or the unresponsive overdose who collapsed outside the nightclub. These are the patients who stand out in our minds when we reflect on critical suction scenarios.

Welcome to our first edition of the SSCOR monthly newsletter. Each month, we will focus on the latest EMS preparedness news, keeping you up on the latest trends in emergency response, education, and training.

As an emergency responder, you have a lot of responsibility. You must be ready for anything: critical patients, natural disasters, and the ever-present threat of terrorist attacks. And a key to readiness is maintaining your equipment, for without your tools, you are little help to anyone.

EMS is a germy business. As an emergency responder, you are in constant contact with people suffering from communicable diseases. As your first line of defense, you must protect yourself. You must also protect your coworkers and, especially, your patients.

As an emergency responder, you know how critical maintaining your equipment is. If someone were to ask you to honestly evaluate your maintenance habits, how do you think you would rate? We all like to think that we are responsible, ready professionals, but we can always improve our habits. And when it comes to portable suction machine maintenance, there is no room for error.

Example of edit made in “suggestion mode”. Summer is upon us, and it seems like only yesterday we were dealing with the winter woes of emergency medicine: traumatic injuries from winter sports, an onslaught of influenza as the temperatures plummeted, and the winter doldrums that can lead to depression and anxiety for those predisposed.

For those working in the hospital setting, you may give your portable suction units little thought. Most hospital workers depend on wall-mounted units, which are plumbed and ready to go. You may go years without needing a portable unit. But when you DO need it, there had better be one available.

As an EMS professional, you know much of your job is spent maintaining your equipment. Trucks must be kept in good working order, supplies must be stocked, and medications must be in-date. Your equipment is of no use if it is not functional, and it's your responsibility to ensure everything is up to snuff.

Trauma-related respiratory emergencies can be some of the most difficult patient scenarios to treat. Trauma comes in many forms: from blunt to penetrating to blast injuries involving any or many parts of the body. And when the trauma affects the respiratory system, whether through direct impact (oral or facial injuries) or indirectly (pneumothorax or hemothorax), your patient can teeter on the brink of survival.

Treating respiratory emergencies is never easy. And when they are compounded by trauma, they can be downright deadly. So, let's discuss what to look for when it comes to trauma-related respiratory emergencies.