A recent posting on this subject stated ..." In general IV access should
NOT be performed on scene unless the patient is entrapped but MAY be done
en route to hospital."
We seem to spend considerable effort focusing on technical skills
rather than their indications. Surely IV access (and any other
intervention) should only be performed if the patient needs it. Where this
happens to be is irrelevant if the patient genuinely needs the
intervention. This is where proscriptive statements and
protocols may fail the patient. The challenge of immediate care
is identifying the needs of the patient and then being able to meet
those needs as quickly as possible.
The challenge for research in immediate care is identifying the needs of
patients and experimenting with systems which most effectively (and
probably cost-effectively) meet those needs.
I'll come back to this topic with news of a new Pre-hospital research
fellowship shortly ......
____________________________________________________________________________
Roderick Mackenzie
e-mail [log in to unmask]
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|