As I've mentioned on several different occasions, it's a huge mistake to wait until a tragedy occurs to explain the truth about response times to your community. Response times should be measured from the patient's perspective. In other words, from the moment the dispatcher picks up the phone and says, "9-1-1 what is your emergency?" […]

This is the discussion for 13 year old female CC: Syncope. You may wish to go back and familiarize yourself with the details. The short of it is that on a very hot and humid day a 13 year old female passed out after looking at her sister's scraped knee. She had passed out at […]

This is the discussion for 63 year old male: Chest Pain. Many of you thought the original 12 leads showed Wellens' Syndrome.  Lets review some key points about the T wave inversions of Wellens' for a moment: They occur when an occluded artery is reperfused, spontaneously or otherwise They are always recorded during a pain […]

EMS is called to a local hardware store for a 13 year old female with a possible seizure. On arrival the patient is found sitting outside at a picnic table. Her mother and father are both present. The ambient temperature is hot and humid. The patient's skin is very warm and moist but chalky. Her […]

One of our faithful readers, Nicholas Eisele, sent in this interesting case study. As always, changes have been made to protect patient confidentiality. After a long night of car wrecks, you get dispatched right before shift change on a Sick Person call. As you arrive, your partner states she may have been here once or […]

This is the discussion for 60 year old male CC: "I don't feel well". Go back and familiarize yourself with the history and clinical presentation because it's important to the case (as it always is). Here is the rhythm strip and 12-lead ECG that was presented. You may recall from my series on ineffective or […]

h/t Ubergizmo A new device by Withings will allow you to plug a BP cuff directly into an iPhone, iTouch or iPad. This could be very good for millions of people in the world who suffer from high blood pressure. See YouTube video HERE. We recently reported on the iCard ECG that will allow patients […]

David here, posting my first case on the blog… hope you enjoy, and Happy Father's Day! Here's an interesting case submitted by "Mike from Mass".  Some minor details have been changed to preserve patient confidentiality. EMS is dispatched to a residence for a 63 year old male with chest pain. Dispatch advises that a different […]

You may recall my previous reporting on the incredible iPhonECG (subsequently re-named the iPhone ECG) which caused quite a stir in the medical and gadget blogosphere. It's the third-most visited page in the history of the EMS 12-Lead blog (behind the lead placement charts and the notice that the 572 pound spokesman for the Heart […]

Here's an interesting case from an faithful reader who wishes to remain anonymous. Some changes have been made to help preserve patient confidentiality. This is a 60 year old male, who activated EMS for not feeling well. The call came in from a home way out in the county, and although it was dispatched as […]