Originally Posted by
Cheny
Flyingdoctorwu you placed an IV? ^ I was wondering what is actually available in the medical equipment bag, luckily I never had to use it. My friend once had someone with urosepsis and told me their equipment bag was useless, no drips available.
Sphygmonanometer 1
Stethoscope 1
Airways, oropharyngeal (3 sizes): 1 pediatric, 1 small adult, 1 large adult or equivalent 3
Self-inflating manual resuscitation device with 3 masks (1 pediatric, 1 small adult, 1 large adult or equivalent) 1:3 masks
CPR mask (3 sizes), 1 pediatric, 1 small adult, 1 large adult, or equivalent 3
IV Admin Set: Tubing w/ 2 Y connectors 1
Alcohol sponges 2
Adhesive tape, 1-inch standard roll adhesive 1
Tape scissors 1 pair
Tourniquet 1
Saline solution, 500 cc 1
Protective nonpermeable gloves or equivalent 1 pair
Needles (2-18 ga., 2-20 ga., 2-22 ga., or sizes necessary to administer required medications) 6
Syringes (1-5 cc, 2-10 cc, or sizes necessary to administer required medications) 4
Analgesic, non-narcotic, tablets, 325 mg 4
Antihistamine tablets, 25 mg 4
Antihistamine injectable, 50 mg, (single dose ampule or equivalent) 2
Atropine, 0.5 mg, 5 cc (single dose ampule or equivalent) 2
Aspirin tablets, 325 mg 4
Bronchodilator, inhaled (metered dose inhaler or equivalent) 1
Dextrose, 50%/50 cc injectable, (single dose ampule or equivalent) 1
Epinephrine 1:1000, 1 cc, injectable, (single dose ampule or equivalent) 2
Epinephrine 1:10,000, 2 cc, injectable, (single dose ampule or equivalent) 2
Lidocaine, 5 cc, 20 mg/ml, injectable (single dose ampule or equivalent) 2
Nitroglycerin tablets, 0.4 mg 10
Basic instructions for use of the drugs in the kit 1
This is the basic miniumium for a kit to contain per FAA guidelines. The kit I recieved also had a larynoscope and endotracheal tube... it did not have a tourniquet, which made placing an IV quite difficult...
I really think the kits should have to automatic blood pressure, pulse, and oxygen saturation machine... The taking of blood pressure at 35K feet is quite a difficult feat... the stethoscope is pretty much worthless...
Originally Posted by
chimambu
Not strictly true.
Often the skills required are those of basic life support and general assessment. Often reassurance is what is required. If the super skills of the specialties you mention are really needed then they will not be able to provide it on a plane. A diversion will be needed and you do not require the sub specialisation for that judgment.
In any case the necessary advice outside your speciality is obtained from the ground and you are there to interpret between the patient and ground support in such a scenario.
Yes sorry I agree.. definitely in most cases all is needed is support and reassurance... I actually would probably be the worse candidate for that... but in case of a true emergency, I would want someone with experience with critical situations.... someone who has (recent) experience managing an airway, placing an intravenous line, or performing ACLS... my neighbor (a pediatrician) answered a call for someone who was having a hypoglycemic episode (sugar unreadable on their pocket monitoring)... she tried placing an intravenous line and had difficulty but ultimately succeed and was able to give dextrose... she told me it was the first IV she had placed since residency (ten years)
Unfortunately, at least with Asiana, there was not a ground support service that was accessible to me. and you're absolutely right, I didn't really have the right resources to manage the situation.. I actually would have diverted the plane if it had been my mother but once the patient perked up she insisted we continue (dx: angina-> unrelieved by two rounds of nitro; took another-> hypotension. BP was 60 systolic when I found her.. Gave her fluid and she perked up a bit.)
FDW