Symposium for Pre-Hospital and Acute Care Emergencies

Overview

This webcast is comprised of 3 presentations, intended for Emergency Medical Service (EMS) and emergency department (ED) practitioners.

Medical complications associated with cardiac, respiratory, and dialysis issues create significant health care risks in prehospital and ED patients. The assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with these conditions pose substantial challenges to both EMS personnel and emergency medicine physicians.

The webcast focuses on cardiology, respiratory, and renal complications in prehospital and emergency department patients, as follows:

  • Cardiology: Prehospital use of thrombolytics and 12-lead EKGs.
  • Respiratory: congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), non-invasive ventilation (eg, continuous positive airway pressure [CPAP], bilevel positive airway pressure [BiPAP]), and pneumonia.
  • Renal complications: Basic and advanced prehospital management of dialysis patients.

Objectives

At the conclusion of this activity, the participant will be able to:

  1. Discuss the indications and contraindications of thrombolytic therapy in the prehospital setting.
  2. Explain the effect of prehospital thrombolytic use on patient outcomes.
  3. Detail the beneficial outcomes from obtaining a 12-lead EKG in the prehospital setting.
  4. List the prehospital and field presentations of dyspnea.
  5. Review evidence-based rationale for the assessment and management of CHF, COPD, and pneumonia in the prehospital patient and in the ED.
  6. Provide a list of medical indications for dialysis treatment and describe the procedure.
  7. Review how common medical emergencies seen in the prehospital setting (eg, dyspnea, bleeding from shunt, fluid overload, electrolyte imbalances) affect dialysis patients.
  8. Describe the evidence-based rationale for the assessment and treatment of hyperkalemia in the prehospital and ED setting.

Target Audience

This educational offering is intended for all levels of EMS professionals, as well as physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants providing Emergency Room care.