MJM Medical Direction Consortium Services
Our Mission: To provide EMS medical direction, continuing education, and patient care related skills development to promote a consistent and progressive model of prehospital patient care throughout Greater Minnesota
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FAQ Question of the Week
Could the consortium provide guidance on the removal of police taser barbs for patients needing evaluation following being tased by law enforcement? Should they be removed on scene? Are any special considerations needed?
Taser barbs should not be removed on-scene by EMS. While it might seem pretty straightforward most of the time, there are some medical-legal considerations for patient care that need to be followed, so it's best to have them handled during a formal evaluation.
Additonally, Law Enforcement should have probe removal as part of their Taser use training, so they should remove them. If the probe is in a sensitive area and/or they are not comfortable removing it for some reason, then the pt should be transported and it can be removed in the ED.
I’ve been reading conflicting procedures in the use of a tourniquet. If a patient has a bleed around the ankle, should the tourniquet be just proximal to the wound or put up on the thigh (single bone)? Was wondering because of the ischemia it would cause the leg"
We continue to recommend applying the tourniquet “high and tight” for extremity injuries and at least a “hand palm” width above the injury, never over a joint. It has been found, that even for prolonged applications of the tourniquet, long term CMS injury to the distal extremity is limited. Orthopedic surgeons use the intervention frequently for joint replacement, etc, to limit bleeding, with positive outcomes. In order for a tourniquet to work adequately, it has to be placed over the part of the extremity that has a single bone in order to get adequate compression.
MJM Medical Direction Consortium Services
MJM Medical Direction Consortium is a registered 501(c)3 organization. All donations are tax deductible in full or in part.