Pediatric Cervical Spine Clearance and Immobilization Practice Among Prehospital Emergency Medical Providers: A Statewide Survey.
Pediatr Emerg Care
; 37(8): e474-e478, 2021 Aug 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32398595
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
Pediatric cervical spine injuries are rare but potentially life threatening. Although published guidelines for assessment of such injuries exist, there is less uniformity in its implementation in out-of-hospital settings. Our purpose was to assess the knowledge and practice patterns for pediatric cervical spine immobilization among prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) providers in Arizona.METHODS:
A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted (October-December 2018), using an electronic mailing list of certified EMS providers (ground and air) in Arizona. A 20-question structured web-based survey was developed and deployed.RESULTS:
One hundred eight EMS stations were contacted with the survey. Sixty-eight providers responded; majority were emergency medical paramedics (73.1%). Most of the stations surveyed did not have a pediatric trauma center (66.2%). When treating children younger than 3 years, half of the respondents stated they did not know of a specific cervical spine clearance criterion; 59.3% felt that cervical spine immobilization was required "sometimes," and 40.0% were unaware of the state's EMS pediatric cervical spine clearance algorithm; 93.9% of EMS providers felt that an age-based algorithm for cervical spine clearance in children would be useful.CONCLUSIONS:
In this statewide survey involving prehospital EMS providers, we found that pediatric cervical spine clearance and immobilization practices, even within a specific geographic location, remain inconsistent.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Traumatismos da Coluna Vertebral
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Serviços Médicos de Emergência
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Auxiliares de Emergência
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article