IAEP Members Participate in Field Study at Hospital Seeking to Save More Lives
June 30, 2011
EMS professionals not only work to save lives, but also to ensure the happiness, comfort and well being of all patients they serve. It’s no surprise that when they get the chance to improve the mortality rate of a given disease, workers are up for the challenge. The Allina Hospital EMS team in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a prime example—they are currently involved in a case study dealing with the life-threatening disease, sepsis.
“Our ambulance service was approached to participate in this study to gain a better understanding of sepsis to hopefully reduce the mortality rate and increase awareness,” said Brett Hopper, president of Local R7-176 and an IAEP national representative in Minneapolis. “With such a vital issue causing so many deaths, we are happy to learn how to combat this disease and improve the lives of those already affected—the only problem is correctly identifying patients with sepsis in the field.”
Sepsis is a severe illness occurring when the bloodstream is overwhelmed by bacteria, causing blood pressure to drop and the patient going into shock. It can stem from any of the body’s major organs, but in hospital patients it is more common that these infections will be in intravenous lines or surgical wounds. “Patients can come in with either a simple infection or one that is severe, so it is hard to say if they will get sepsis,” said Hopper.
Thirty-five members of Local R7-167 are currently participating in the study which is going to span over twelve months or up to 150 patients. Members are being trained to better identify and treat sepsis symptoms, including improving pre-hospital diagnostics like taking accurate temperatures and blood levels on the way to the hospital.
“We are looking for patients with a recent infection and likely symptoms related to sepsis to be included in this study,” said Hopper. “We are actively learning how to better diagnose the disease and what steps to take early on to prevent the spreading of it. The information we collect from this study can only help in saving future lives.”