Discuss the efficacy of using pre-hospital ultrasound in the assessment and treatment of abdominal trauma.

Short Critical Thinking Questions Part 2

Select three (3)of the questions below to answer.
Your response should reference current evidence from PRIMARY sources and be 500-700 words per response.
Your reerence list should be at the end of EACH answer.
An ECU Turnitin cover page should be used for submission with all questions answered in the same document, this needs to be uploaded to the turnitin link in this folder by the due date – late submissions without PRIOR approval from the unit coordinator will be penalised in line with university policy.

Question 7
Pre-hospital ultrasound has the potential to improve trauma care. Discuss the efficacy of using pre-hospital ultrasound in the assessment and treatment of abdominal trauma.

Question 8
Patients over the age of 55 are at risk of increased mortality and morbidity as a result of unrecognized major traumatic injuries. Discuss the benefits of using geriatric triage criteria in the pre-hospital setting in this population.

Question 9
Currently there is no data to support “rescue breaths” before compressions in drowning victims. Discuss the current evidence surrounding airway management (including preferred adjuncts and use of suction for excessive sputum/“froth”) in adult drowning’s.

Question 10
Pre-hospital management of major pelvic trauma has included splints such as the T-pod/SAM splint and the MAST/PASG. Use the current evidence to compare the effectiveness of these devices and justify which of one these is the most beneficial to the patient with major pelvic trauma.

Question 11
Spinal clearance rules such as NEXUS and Canadian C-Spine Rule were developed to identify patients who required x-ray. Can these be extrapolated as an appropriate pre-hospital screening tool for spinal immobilisation?

Question 12
Traditionally in pre-hospital care, the Parkland Formula has been used to calculate volumes for fluid resuscitation associated with burns. Recently a “Rule of 10” was devised as a simplified formula to calculate fluid resuscitation volumes for a burn victim. Discuss the current evidence supporting the formula you think is most appropriate to the civilian pre-hospital environment.