Early Recognition and Management of Inhalational Injury Can be Lifesaving

Medic 13, Engine 13 and Support Car 1301 are dispatched to a local supply company for a chemical spill and a 57-year-old male with trouble breathing. On arrival, the crews are greeted by company officials who report one of the employees was working alone in a small, poorly ventilated back room most of the morning. Another employee went out back to get something and found the man lying on the ground "breathing funny." The crew is handed a material data safety sheet that notes the spilled chemical is 90% sulfuric acid. A decontamination area is set up nearby and the engine company enters the building wearing full protective gear to extricate the patient. While decontaminating the patient, the engine crew tells the medics he was found next to a leaking 300-gallon tote. After the patient is fully decontaminated, he’s taken to the ambulance. He’s awake and alert. His eyes are red and tearing, and he’s coughing, audibly wheezing and complaining of a sore throat. He states he was attempting to install a valve and piping to the tote when he noticed a leak. On attempting to repair the leak, he slipped, fell and was unable to get up. Initial evaluation reveals a red, inflamed posterior pharynx but no stridor or swelling. Breath sounds include diffuse expiratory wheezing on auscultation. His vital signs include a heart rate of 110, a blood pressure of 150/92, a respiratory rate of 16 and a pulse oximetry reading of 96%. He has no burns and his only other injury is a defo...
Source: JEMS Special Topics - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Airway & Respiratory Special Topics Patient Care Source Type: news