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Medical Emergency
A medical emergency is an acute injury or illness that poses an immediate risk to a person's life or long-term health, sometimes referred to as a situation risking "life or limb". These emergencies may require assistance from another, qualified person, as some of these emergencies, such as cardiovascular (heart), respiratory, and gastrointestinal cannot be dealt with by the victim themselves.AAOS 10th Edition Orange Book Dependent on the severity of the emergency, and the quality of any treatment given, it may require the involvement of multiple levels of care, from first aiders through emergency medical technicians, paramedics, emergency physicians and anesthesiologists. Any response to an emergency medical situation will depend strongly on the situation, the patient involved, and availability of resources to help them. It will also vary depending on whether the emergency occurs whilst in hospital under medical care, or outside medical care (for instance, in the street or alone ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acute (medicine)
In medicine, describing a disease as acute denotes that it is of short duration and, as a corollary of that, of recent onset. The quantification of how much time constitutes "short" and "recent" varies by disease and by context, but the core denotation of "acute" is always qualitatively in contrast with " chronic", which denotes long-lasting disease (for example, in acute leukaemia and chronic leukaemia). In addition, "acute" also often connotes two other meanings: sudden onset and severity, such as in acute myocardial infarction (AMI), where suddenness and severity are both established aspects of the meaning. It thus often connotes that the condition is fulminant (as in the AMI example), but not always (as in acute rhinitis, which is usually synonymous with the common cold). The one thing that acute MI and acute rhinitis have in common is that they are not chronic. They can happen again (as in recurrent pneumonia, that is, multiple acute pneumonia episodes), but they are not t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1-1-2
112 is a common emergency telephone number that can be dialed free of charge from most mobile telephones, and in some countries, fixed telephones in order to reach emergency services (ambulance, fire and rescue, police). 112 is a part of the GSM standard and all GSM-compatible telephone handsets are able to dial 112 even when locked or, in some countries, with no SIM card present. It is also the common emergency number in nearly all member states of the European Union as well as several other countries of Europe and the world. 112 is often available alongside other numbers traditionally used in the given country to access emergency services. In some countries, calls to 112 are not connected directly but forwarded by the GSM network to local emergency numbers (e.g. 911 in North America, 999 in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong, and 000 in Australia). Origins 112 was first standardised as the pan-European number for emergency services following the adoption of recommendation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person who is in cardiac arrest. It is recommended in those who are unresponsive with no breathing or abnormal breathing, for example, agonal respirations. CPR involves chest compressions for adults between and deep and at a rate of at least 100 to 120 per minute. The rescuer may also provide artificial ventilation by either exhaling air into the subject's mouth or nose (mouth-to-mouth resuscitation) or using a device that pushes air into the subject's lungs (mechanical ventilation). Current recommendations place emphasis on early and high-quality chest compressions over artificial ventilation; a simplified CPR method involving only chest compressions is recommended for untrained rescuers. Wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pulse
In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the neck ( carotid artery), wrist (radial artery), at the groin (femoral artery), behind the knee (popliteal artery), near the ankle joint (posterior tibial artery), and on foot (dorsalis pedis artery). Pulse (or the count of arterial pulse per minute) is equivalent to measuring the heart rate. The heart rate can also be measured by listening to the heart beat by auscultation, traditionally using a stethoscope and counting it for a minute. The radial pulse is commonly measured using three fingers. This has a reason: the finger closest to the heart is used to occlude the pulse pressure, the middle finger is used get a crude estimate of the blood pressure, and the finger most distal to the heart (usually the ring finger) is used to nullify the eff ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apnea
Apnea, BrE: apnoea, is the temporal cessation of breathing. During apnea, there is no movement of the muscles of inhalation, and the volume of the lungs initially remains unchanged. Depending on how blocked the airways are ( patency), there may or may not be a flow of gas between the lungs and the environment, but if there's sufficient flow, gas exchange within the lungs and cellular respiration wouldn't be severely affected. Voluntarily doing this is called holding one's breath. Apnea may first be diagnosed in childhood, and it is recommended to consult an ENT specialist, allergist or sleep physician to discuss symptoms when noticed; malformation and/or malfunctioning of the upper airways may be observed by an orthodontist. Cause Apnea can be involuntary—for example, drug-induced (such as by opiate toxicity), mechanically / physiologically induced (for example, by strangulation or choking), or a consequence of neurological disease or trauma. During sleep, people with sev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chain Of Survival
The chain of survival refers to a series of actions that, properly executed, reduce the mortality associated with cardiac arrest, sudden cardiac arrest. Like any chain, the chain of survival is only as strong as its weakest link. The six interdependent links in the chain of survival are early recognition of sudden cardiac arrest and access to emergency medical care, early Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, CPR, early defibrillation, early advanced cardiac life support, and physical and emotional recovery. The first three links in the chain can be performed by lay bystanders, while the second three links are designated to medical professionals. Currently, between 70 and 90% of cardiac arrest patients die before they reach the hospital. However, a cardiac arrest does not have to be lethal if bystanders can take the right steps immediately. Background According to the American Heart Association, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest can affect more than 300,000 people in the United States each y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patient Evacuation
Casualty movement is the collective term for the techniques used to move a casualty from the initial location (street, home, workplace, wilderness, battlefield) to the ambulance. In wilderness or combat conditions, it may first be necessary to stabilize the patient prior to moving them to avoid causing further injury. In such situations, evacuation may involve carrying the victim some distance on improvised stretchers, a travois, or other improvised carrying gear. Spinal immobilization is necessary if there is a likelihood of head or spinal injury. Once the patient is ready to be moved, the first step is the casualty lifting, to put him/her on a stretcher or litter (rescue basket). The final step is the patient transfer from the stretcher to the hospital bed. The use of wheeled stretchers, usually used in most developed emergency services, does not need much explanation, except that great care must be taken in order to avoid aggravating an unstable trauma. See also * CASEVAC * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Altered Mental Status
An altered level of consciousness is any measure of arousal other than normal. Level of consciousness (LOC) is a measurement of a person's arousability and responsiveness to stimuli from the environment. A mildly depressed level of consciousness or alertness may be classed as lethargy; someone in this state can be aroused with little difficulty. People who are obtunded have a more depressed level of consciousness and cannot be fully aroused. Those who are not able to be aroused from a sleep-like state are said to be stuporous. Coma is the inability to make any purposeful response. Scales such as the Glasgow coma scale have been designed to measure the level of consciousness. An altered level of consciousness can result from a variety of factors, including alterations in the chemical environment of the brain (e.g. exposure to poisons or intoxicants), insufficient oxygen or blood flow in the brain, and excessive pressure within the skull. Prolonged unconsciousness is under ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Informed Consent
Informed consent is a principle in medical ethics and medical law, that a patient must have sufficient information and understanding before making decisions about their medical care. Pertinent information may include risks and benefits of treatments, alternative treatments, the patient's role in treatment, and their right to refuse treatment. In most systems, healthcare providers have a legal and ethical responsibility to ensure that a patient's consent is informed. This principle applies more broadly than healthcare intervention, for example to conduct research and to disclosing a person's medical information. Definitions of informed consent vary, and the standard required is generally determined by the state. Informed consent requires a clear appreciation and understanding of the facts, implications, and consequences of an action. To give informed consent, the individual concerned must have adequate reasoning faculties and possess all relevant facts. Impairments to reasoning an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Implied Consent
Implied consent is consent which is not expressly granted by a person, but rather implicitly granted by a person's actions and the facts and circumstances of a particular situation (or in some cases, by a person's silence or inaction). For example, if a person is unconscious as a result of injuries sustained during a traffic collision, medical treatment may be provided to that person, despite the unconscious person being unable to expressly grant consent for that treatment. The term is most commonly encountered in the context of United States drunk driving laws. Driving while intoxicated All U.S. states have driver licensing laws which state that a licensed driver has given their implied consent to a certified breathalyzer or by a blood sample by their choice, or similar manner of determining blood alcohol concentration. Implied consent laws may result in punishment for those who refuse to cooperate with blood alcohol testing after an arrest for suspected impaired driving, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Expressed Consent
Consent occurs when one person voluntarily agrees to the proposal or desires of another. It is a term of common speech, with specific definitions as used in such fields as the law, medicine, research, and sexual relationships. Consent as understood in specific contexts may differ from its everyday meaning. For example, a person with a mental disorder, a low mental age, or under the legal age of sexual consent may willingly engage in a sexual act that still fails to meet the legal threshold for consent as defined by applicable law. United Nations agencies and initiatives in sex education programs believe that teaching the topic of consent as part of a comprehensive sexuality education is beneficial. Types of consent include implied consent, express consent, informed consent and unanimous consent. Types * An expression of consent is one that is unmistakably stated, rather than implied. It may be given in writing, by speech (orally), or non-verbally, e.g. by a clear gesture s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Public Liability
Public liability is part of the law of tort which focuses on civil wrongs. An applicant (the injured party) usually sues the respondent (the owner or occupier) under common law based on negligence and/or damages. Claims are usually successful when it can be shown that the owner/occupier was responsible for an injury, therefore they breached their duty of care. The duty of care is very complex, but in basic terms it is the standard by which one would expect to be treated whilst one is in the care of another. Once a breach of duty of care has been established, an action brought in a common law court would most likely be successful. Based on the injuries and the losses of the applicant the court would award a financial compensation package. The law of insurance and public liability In the course of managing any property, one is obligated to comply with laws and statutes administered by government and municipal bodies. These bodies impose various liabilities of which the property o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
