We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
To save content items to your account,
please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies.
If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account.
Find out more about saving content to .
To save content items to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org
is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings
on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part
of your Kindle email address below.
Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations.
‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi.
‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
The impact of the use of mask continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on patients with acute respiratory distress in the prehospital, rural setting has not been defined. The goal was to test the use of CPAP using the Respironics® WhisperFlow® CPAP in patients presenting with acute respiratory distress. This was a collaborative evaluation of CPAP involving a rural EMS agency and the regional medical center. Patient outcomes including the overall rate of intubation-both in the field and in the emergency department (ED), and length of stay in the hospital and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) were tracked.
Methods:
The study was an eight-month, crossover, observational, non-blinded study.
Results:
During the four months of baseline data collection, 7.9% of patients presenting with respiratory distress were intubated within the first 48 hours of care. Their average ICU length of stay was 8.0 days. During the four months of data collection when CPAP was available in the prehospital setting, intubation was not required for any patients in the field or in the ED. Admissions to the ICU decreased. Those patients admitted to the ICU, the average ICU length of stay deceased to 4.3 days.
Conclusions:
The use of the CPAP in the prehospital setting is beneficial for patients in acute respiratory distress.
Recommend this
Email your librarian or administrator to recommend adding this to your organisation's collection.