Prehospital Breech Delivery with Fetal Head Entrapment -A Case Report and Review.

We present a case in which an emergency medical services (EMS) crew was called for a precipitous breech delivery with fetal head entrapment that was unrelieved following standard prehospital interventions and eventually resulted in neonatal cardiac arrest and death. Although this is a rare occurrence, EMS responders must have adequate training and guidelines on how to assist with vaginal delivery of breech presentation and how to appropriately manage fetal head entrapment in the field. There is little literature to provide guidance but it appears that standard EMS teaching does not represent current best obstetrical practice. We review the available literature, make expert recommendations, and provide a sample new treatment guideline for basic life support, advanced life support, and EMS physician response.

Efficacy of facemask ventilation techniques in novice providers.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine which of two facemask grip techniques for two-person facemask ventilation was more effective in novice clinicians, the traditional E-C clamp (EC) grip or a thenar eminence (TE) technique. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, crossover comparison study. SETTING: Operating room of a university hospital. SUBJECTS: 60 novice clinicians (medical and paramedic students). MEASUREMENTS: Subjects were assigned to perform, in a random order, each of the two mask-grip techniques on consenting ASA physical status 1, 2, and 3 patients undergoing elective general anesthesia while the ventilator delivered a fixed 500 mL tidal volume (VT). In a crossover manner, subjects performed each facemask ventilation technique (EC and TE) for one minute (12 breaths/min). The primary outcome was the mean expired VT compared between techniques. As a secondary outcome, we examined mean peak inspiratory pressure (PIP). MAIN RESULTS: The TE grip provided greater expired VT (379 mL vs 269 mL), with a mean difference of 110 mL (P < 0.0001; 95% CI: 65, 157). Using the EC grip first had an average VT improvement of 200 mL after crossover to the TE grip (95% CI: 134, 267). When the TE grip was used first, mean VTs were greater than for EC by 24 mL (95% CI: -25, 74). When considering only the first 12 breaths delivered (prior to crossover), the TE grip resulted in mean VTs of 339 mL vs 221 mL for the EC grip (P = 0.0128; 95% CI: 26, 209). There was no significant difference in PIP values using the two grips: the TE mean (SD) was 14.2 (7.0) cm H2O, and the EC mean (SD) was 13.5 (9.0) cm H2O (P = 0.49). CONCLUSIONS: The TE facemask ventilation grip results in improved ventilation over the EC grip in the hands of novice providers.