EMS Protocol of the Week - Heat Emergencies (Adult and Pediatric)

Believe it or not, the weather is actually nice in Brooklyn sometimes. We hopefully seem to finally be finding ourselves leaving behind all the lousy cold, wet, depressing weather, which means we’ve got approximately 1-2 weeks before we find ourselves in lousy hot, sticky, depressing weather! Which makes now the best time to start reviewing the prehospital approach to heat emergencies, which in NYC generally amounts to exposure control (remove outser clothing) and fluid resuscitation (for ALS). Unfortunately, there isn’t enough room in an ambulance for a full ice bath, but that leaves something for you to do when the patient arrives to the ED! Just remember not to drop the temperature too quickly and to avoid shivering.

Stay cool out there, gang! Or warm, depending on how the weather is today when this email goes out.

www.nycremsco.org and the protocol binder for more!

Dave