Random thoughts...

Well, I have been naughty. More than a month with out a post. That just wont do. Excuse my while I tighten my chalice...

Ok, I'm back and only bleeding slightly... Nothing that will kill me.

So I have the good fortune to be involved with an EMS agency that practices Focused CPR. In my less than a year here, I've seen more CPR saves than the previous 16 years of Paramedicine combined. (I know, I know anecdotal data but still...) But I'm curious, how many other agencies do anything other than AHA, and what's their success rates like? Oh and when I say “saves” I don't just mean 'Hey!! we got ROSC... but no brain function' type saves, but real, honest-to-god discharged from the hospital in a functional capacity type of saves. I know of one case that the patient went from vfib arrest to signing his own admission papers.

Very exciting stuff!!

I'd love to be able to put up a link to a paper but they are still compiling the data for their papers.

I've just recently heard that my old county (somewhere above the Mason-Dixon Line) is starting to experiment with Focused CPR as well. I wonder if they will experience similar save rates or is there something else unique about us here? Hmmmm.

<rant>

I hate that I'm concerned with putting locations with these posts. I would really love to say which county is doing what, but it just isn't worth the hassle. If an employee can't complain about their boss to their friends on Facebook then what might happen to me if I were to use all the locations?

Gawd EMS can be pretty stupid sometimes. We get so small minded about such silly things.

</rant>