Pulsara Blog

Every second counts in the prehospital environment. As we learn more about better ways to provide care, it’s important for EMS providers to stay informed about the latest skills and strategies for saving lives. Last week, EMS1 published an eBook compilation of articles that each detail ten things you need to know to saves lives.

In this free eBook, you’ll find four articles that each contain a list of ten things you need to know about a major care topic. Three cover different critical-care scenarios you’re likely to face in the field (cardiac arrest, major blood loss, and acute pain), and the fourth discusses best practices for handling patient handovers.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is becoming an option for critical cardiac care in the prehospital environment thanks to advances in technology.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Thanks to our guest blogger this week, Dean Meenach, MSN, RN, CNL, CEN, CCRN, CPEN, EMT-P. Dean has taught and worked in EMS for more than 24 years and currently serves as director of EMS Education/Paramedic Instructor and co-teacher in the Paramedic to RN Bridge Program at Mineral Area College. He has served as a subject matter expert, author, national speaker and collaborative author in micro-simulation programs. Dean continues to serve patients part-time as a member of a stroke team and in a pediatric and adult trauma center. He can be reached at dmeenach@mineralarea.edu.

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Traditionally, the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, better known as ECMO, was limited to patients in hospital intensive care units or surgery. However, advances in technology have made available ECMO devices that are compact, portable and cost-effective.

These advancements, coupled with specialized training, have made this once scarce resource more widely available in nontraditional settings. ECMO may be coming to an ED or EMS entity near you, so here are 10 things you should know about ECMO.