Dr Matt Reed and Dr Louise Gibson attended the 2015 Resuscitation Symposium on thursday 26th November 2015 to present two posters on the PUCA study, which is looking at training paramedics in focused Echo in Life Support.
The study which will run until the end of January 2016 is looking at whether our advanced 3RU paramedics are able to incorporate this advanced skill into their practice, to assess the impact of the use of ultrasound in cardiac arrest victims and also to gain a valuable insight into the state of the heart so early on in the resuscitation attempt.
The morning consisted of a valuable overview of the new 2015 guidelines. There were some excellent talks in the afternoon which was rounded off by Professor Douglas Chamberlain, who has previously delivered the Medic One lecture giving his own (very personal) view of the new guidelines as well as an insight into what the next 25 years have to offer.
Of specific interest to PUCA followers, both Douglas and Mark Whitbread of the London Ambulance Service, felt that pre-hospital focused ELS performed by advanced paramedics will be a cornerstone of cardiac arrest management in the future. This will enable PEA patients with heart movement to be urgently transported, detection of VF masquerading as asystole and also aiding decisions on terminating resuscitation in those who have asystole and no cardiac function.
We came away from the day enthused, motivated and feeling PUCA and the 3RU team are both at the cutting edge of resuscitation practice.
Matt