Comparison of buccal midazolam and rectal diazepam for seizures in children
buccal midazolam and rectal diazepam are used as first-line drugs to control seizures in children. Immediate treatment and management of a continuing seizure is vital to ensure its safe, effective and...
Effects of nebulised beta-2 agonists on clinical observations in asthma exacerbations
Despite concerns over their side effects, short-acting beta-2 agonists are still used in high doses in prehospital care internationally to treat asthma exacerbations. This systematic review set out to...
Stroke: aetiology, identification, management and the future
Stroke is a significant clinical event and a medical emergency. More than 100 000 individuals in the UK experience a stroke annually, with one in four strokes occurring in people of working age. Strok...
Rhabdomyolysis and elderly fallers
Elderly people who have fallen make up a large proportion of the ambulance workload: falls and fall-related injuries are prevalent within the older population, with half of those aged >80 years fal...
Understanding the risks associated with obesity and bariatrics
There has been an increase in the number of overweight patients over the last two decades. This article describes the differences between people who are overweight, obese or bariatric and explores how...
A prehospital approach to intravenous fluid therapy in patients with sepsis
Sepsis is a life-threatening, acute condition that can lead to septic shock and haemodynamic instability; it can be fatal if not treated. It is usually a complication of a viral, bacterial and fungal ...
Prehospital triage tools in major trauma: a critical appraisal of a systematic review
Effective triage is critical to ensure patients suffering major trauma are identified and access a pathway to definitive major trauma care, which is typically provided in a major trauma centre as part...
Headaches in emergency and urgent care
Headaches are a common disorder, are the fourth commonest reason for attending an emergency department (ED) and account for around 1% of 999 calls. They are often poorly managed. Paramedics will encou...
Frequent callers and frustrated clinicians
Most ambulance services experience frequent callers or high-volume user populations. It is not an isolated issue but a worldwide problem. Frequent users are a heterogeneous population, with complex ph...
Diagnosis and management of acute out-of-hospital cluster headaches
Cluster headaches are the most painful form of primary headache and the most common of a group of headaches known as trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias (TACs). It is estimated that 25 million days are ...
Falls in older people
Paramedic programmes incorporate person-centred approaches to the individualisation of emergency care. Within this context, older patients (aged 65+) pose specific challenges in relation to their ambu...
Barriers and facilitators to out-of-hospital pain management for children
Pain is one of the most common symptoms presented by patients of all ages to ambulance services. While children in pain make up a relatively small proportion of the patients attended by prehospital ca...