Via EMS magazine a Canadian study on BLS V. ALS treatment of trauma. Among the info presented, "Survival did not differ overall (81.1% among patients in the advanced
life-support phase v. 81.8% among those in the basic life-support phase; p = 0.65)." Also, "We also found that during the advanced lifesupport phase, mortality was greater among patients with
Glasgow Coma Scale scores less than 9."
I've always been told that a good basic saves a medic or that to be a good medic you must 1st be a good basic. This study seems to be consistent with that.
1 comment:
Absolutely. Unless one is very good at BLS, one will not be a good medic.
Since EMS is poorly understood and applied, there is little reason to believe that ALS is used appropriately. This does not mean that ALS is ineffective, but that it is used improperly by medical directors who do not understand how to use it, do not provide effective oversight, and do not keep up on the research.
ALS is ineffective when it is misused.
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