Stretcher Injury

The aim of this article was to review the current knowledge relating to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMDs) and non-fatal injuries in emergency medical technicians and paramedics (EMTs-Ps). A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Google Scholar, and Clinical Key. The annual prevalence of back pain ranged from 30% to 66%, and back injuries and contusions from 4% to 43%. Falls, slips, trips, and overexertion while lifting or carrying patients or instruments ranged from 10% to 56%, with overexertion being the most common injury...

BACKGROUND: Patient lifting injuries remain a significant hazard to Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers despite preventative and mitigative strategies. OBJECTIVE: To better characterize the nature of occupational injury involving patient and stretcher handling. METHODS: A retrospective review of existing de-identified claims data was performed for the study period of January 1, 1999, through December 31, 2017. Independent reviewers analyzed each claim to determine if the claim was related to lifting or moving a patient...

BACKGROUND: Rowing is an Olympic sport gaining popularity in India and injuries are common in these athletes. Determinants of performance, injury risk and training are all interrelated in rowing. Injuries result from various risk factors including fitness issues and improper techniques. Rowers should have adequate leg extension strength and lumbo-pelvic coordination to produce and transmit power from the legs to the oar handle. Biomechanical analysis of the rowing stroke can help in preventing injuries and optimise technique for best performance...

BACKGROUND: Spinal precautions are intended to limit motion of potentially unstable spinal segments. The efficacy of various treatment approaches for motion restriction in the cervical spine has been rigorously investigated using healthy volunteers and, to a lesser extent, cadaver samples. No previous studies have objectively measured this motion in trauma patients with potential spine injuries during prehospital care. Objective: The purpose of this study was to characterize head-neck (H-N) kinematics in a sample of trauma patients receiving spinal precautions in the field...

The aim of this study was to investigate the experiences of medical transportation of Korean travelers who suffered accidents abroad and then transferred home by our aeromedical team.We collected demographic and clinical data on patients injured while traveling abroad from January 2013 to July 2017. Descriptive analyses based on 4 different transportation methods and transport time since hospitalization were performed.A total of 33 patients were repatriated during the study period. Of these, 28 (84.8%) were trauma cases with pedestrian injuries being the most common (11 cases; 39...

The efficiency of training programmes in handling designed to prevent injuries has rarely been demonstrated by studies in the workplace. This study aimed to identify factors that may favour or inhibit the application of safe handling principles by paramedics performing full-body transfers of patients from a stair chair to a stretcher. In an observational field study, handling methods used in 45 patient transfers from a stair chair to stretcher were characterised. Principles concerning the physical environment seem to be applied frequently, but those applicable during the transfer are neglected...

Techniques for single-provider reductions are valuable methods for provisional stabilization of fractures. In the setting of a lower extremity fracture, these techniques often use stockinette or kerlex to suspend an extremity while a reduction maneuver is performed, cast padding is applied, and a plaster splint is placed with subsequent molding to maintain reduction. Obtaining and maintaining a suitable amount of tension to the soft material while securing the limb to the stretcher or hospital bed continues to make these reduction maneuvers difficult to perform...

On a Sunday morning at 06:22 on October 23, 1983, in Beirut, Lebanon, a semitrailer filled with TNT sped through the guarded barrier into the ground floor of the Civilian Aviation Authority and exploded, killing and wounding US Marines from the 1st Battalion 8th Regiment (2nd Division), as well as the battalion surgeon and deployed corpsmen. The truck bomb explosion, estimated to be the equivalent of 21,000 lbs of TNT, and regarded as the largest nonnuclear explosion since World War II, caused what was then the most lethal single-day death toll for the US Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II...

Patient transportation in hospitals faces many challenges, including the limited manpower, work-related injuries, low efficiency of current bed pushing methods. This paper presents a new motorized robotic bed mover with omni-directional mobility to address this problem. This device is composed of an omni-directional mobility unit; a force sensing based human-machine interface (HMI) and control hardware with batteries and electronics. The proposed bed mover can be attached to the bottom of a manual hospital stretcher, transforming it into a powered omni-directional bed (OmniBed) that can be used only by one person...

We present a mechanically active cell culture substrate that produces complex strain patterns and generates extremely high strain rates. The transparent miniaturized cell stretcher is compatible with live cell microscopy and provides a very compact and portable alternative to other systems. A cell monolayer is cultured on a dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) made of a 30 μm thick silicone membrane sandwiched between stretchable electrodes. A potential difference of several kV's is applied across the electrodes to generate electrostatic forces and induce mechanical deformation of the silicone membrane...

Objective: To discuss the efficacy of skin stretcher applied for repair of postoperative skin and soft tissue defects in tibial fractures. Methods: Between April 2016 and March 2017, 15 cases with skin and soft tissue defects after tibial fractures fixation were treated with the skin stretcher. There were 11 males and 4 females with an age of 24-59 years (mean, 37.5 years). The causes of injury included traffic accident in 7 cases, bruise in 3 cases, falling from height in 3 cases, and falling in 2 cases; without nerve and vascular injury in all patients...

BACKGROUND: Emergency medical services (EMS) facilitate out of hospital care in a wide variety of settings on a daily basis. Stretcher-related adverse events and long term musculoskeletal injuries are commonly reported. Novel stretcher mechanisms may facilitate enhanced movement of patients and reduce workload for EMS personnel. AIM: To describe EMS personnel's perceived exertion using two different stretcher systems. METHODS: The methodology of this explorative simulation study included enrolling twenty (n=20) registered nurses and paramedics who worked in ten pairs (n=10) to transport a conscious, 165lb...

More than 7.5 million people in the world are affected by spinal cord injury (SCI). In this study, we aimed to analyze the effect of training in advanced trauma life support (ATLS) on the kinematics of the spine when performing different mobilization and immobilization techniques on patients with suspected SCI. A quasi-experimental study, clinical simulation, was carried out to determine the effect of training in ATLS on 32 students enrolled in the Master's program of Emergency and Special Care Nursing. The evaluation was performed through 2 maneuvers: placing of the scoop stretcher (SS) and spinal board (SB), with an actor who simulated a clinical situation of suspected spinal injury...

Patients often arrive at imaging departments on stretchers, and in certain circumstances they must remain on the stretcher for the imaging examination to reduce the likelihood of exacerbating injuries. Imaging stretcher-bound patients can be challenging, with many physical and technical variables to consider. These challenges occur because of differences between imaging a patient on a tabletop and imaging a patient on a stretcher. This article reviews the issues associated with imaging stretcher-bound patients, including the unavailability of the automatic exposure control, different grids used, geometric factors, and variability in stretcher design...

Potentially, functional electrical stimulation (FES)-assisted exercise may have an important therapeutic role in reducing comorbidities associated with spinal cord injury (SCI). Here, we present an overview of these secondary life-threatening conditions, discuss the rationale behind the development of a hybrid exercise called FES rowing, and describe our experience in developing FES rowing technology. FES rowing and sculling are unique forms of adaptive rowing for those with SCI. The paralyzed leg musculature is activated by multiple channels of electrical pulses delivered via self-adhesive electrodes attached to the skin...

BACKGROUND: Ambulance crashes delay patient transfer and endanger patients, ambulance crews, and other road users. In low- and middle-income countries, where motor vehicle crash rates are typically high, ambulances have a high risk of being involved in a crash. This case report describes an ambulance crash in Thailand to elucidate modifiable problems in current protocols and practices of emergency medical services. CASE REPORT: In November 2016, a 28-year-old male driver of an ambulance died in a crash while transferring a female patient with dizziness to a rural hospital...

For paramedics, loading a stretcher into an ambulance is an activity with a high risk of back injury and accidents. The objective of this study was to document strategies paramedics use at work while loading a powered stretcher into an ambulance. A total of 249 stretcher loading operations performed by 58 paramedics, and 51 semistructured post-intervention interviews were analyzed. Almost three quarters of loading operations required additional actions (e.g., raising the shoulders and additional lifting) to insert the stretcher into the cot fastener system in the ambulance...

The transition of neutrophils from a resting state to a primed state is an essential requirement for their function as competent immune cells. This transition can be caused not only by chemical signals but also by mechanical perturbation. After cessation of either, these cells gradually revert to a quiescent state over 40 to 120 min. We use two biophysical tools, an optical stretcher and a novel microcirculation mimetic, to effect physiologically relevant mechanical deformations of single nonadherent human neutrophils...

Paramedic services are considering moving towards the use of powered stretcher and load systems to reduce stretcher related injuries, but cost is perceived as a barrier. This study compared injury incidence rates, days lost, and compensation costs between Niagara Emergency Medical Service (NEMS) and Hamilton Paramedic Service (HPS) pre- (four years) and post- (one year) implementation of powered stretcher and load systems in NEMS. Prior to the intervention stretcher related musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) incidence rates averaged 20...

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