[Announce a death rapes to the close relations in emergency situation and taken care]. / Annoncer une mort violente aux proches en situation d'urgence extrahospitalière et les accompagner.

The death is a part of the everyday life of the emergency medical teams, but to announce the death and to take care in immediate of the saddened close relations rest a testing experience for which the professionals of the emergency care are not still prepared. Our comment aims from the experience of care of families, saddened in immediate and also recorded within the framework of a specialized consultation, to pass on what the saddened persons can feel during the intervention of the help and the confrontation in the death of their close. Our objective being to bring to the professionals of the tracks of reflection to limit the risks of survictimisation.

[Introduction of a bar coding pharmacy stock replenishment system in a prehospital emergency medical unit: economical impact]. / Mise en place d'un système de gestion informatique de la pharmacie au sein d'un service médical d'urgence et de réanimation: impact sur les dépenses.

OBJECTIVE: To assess economical impact after introduction of a bar coding pharmacy stock replenishment system in a prehospital emergency medical unit. STUDY DESIGN: Observational before and after study. METHODS: A computer system using specific software and bare-code technology was introduced in the pre hospital emergency medical unit (Smur). Overall activity and costs related to pharmacy were recorded annually during two periods: the first 2 years period before computer system introduction and the second one during the 4 years following this system installation. RESULTS: The overall clinical activity increased by 10% between the two periods whereas pharmacy related costs continuously decreased after the start of pharmacy management computer system use. Pharmacy stock management was easier after introduction of the new stock replenishment system. The mean pharmacy related cost of one patient management was 13 Euros before and 9 Euros after the introduction of the system. The overall cost savings during the studied period was calculated to reach 134,000 Euros. CONCLUSION: The introduction of a specific pharmacy management computer system allowed to do important costs savings in a prehospital emergency medical unit.

[National survey on out-of-hospital difficult intubation management]. / Enquête nationale sur la prise en charge de l'intubation difficile en médecine d'urgence préhospitalière.

OBJECTIVES: Difficult intubation rate is higher in the prehospital setting than in the operating room. Goal of this survey was to assess compliance of the French prehospital mobile emergency unit (Smur) to the recent French guidelines for the difficult airway management. STUDY DESIGN: National phone survey. METHODS: A phone questionnaire was proposed to one senior emergency physician of all 380 French Smur. Seven questions were asked about intubation devices used, availability of a written difficult intubation algorithm and intubation training of the Smur's physicians. RESULTS: Guidelines of the recent French consensus conference on difficult intubation are only partly followed by the Smur. Only 60% of the Smur perform systematic rapid intubation sequence, plastic laryngoscope blades are used by more than 50% of the Smur and less than 50% of the Smur have a written difficult intubation management algorithm available. The Gum elastic Bougie is available in 58% of the Smur and the intubating laryngeal mask airway in 71%, whereas initial formation for difficult intubation devices used is provided to the emergency physicians in only 58% of the Smur. CONCLUSION: This survey shows that the French guidelines for the difficult airway management are only partially followed by the French Smur. An effort should be made for a larger diffusion of these guidelines towards the emergency physicians working in the Smur.