Members of the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Emergency Department, along with Columbus Division of Fire Medical Director Dr. Robert Lowe, recently convened at Columbus Fire Station 7 for a significant run review, focusing on an intricate automobile accident, as detailed in a social media post by the Columbus Division of Fire. The case under scrutiny featured a patient trapped in a wrecked vehicle who suffered a rare C2 lateral mass fracture in the cervical spine, spotlighting the challenging rescue and sophisticated prehospital care.
According to the post, Lt. Clay Kruse from Station 7 outlined the response, noting how the team extricated the patient while meticulously maintaining C-spine precautions and setting an intraosseous line in the patient's left shoulder, a life-saving technique allowing for expedient delivery of medications and fluids directly into the bone when traditional IV access is impeded, a crucial tool in such critical situations, amidst the complexity of the scenario they faced which included dealing with the troubling confines of a mangled vehicle and the need to stabilize a severely injured patient. "We used a backboard to help move the patient out of the vehicle onto our cot and took the patient in the back of the medic," Kruse recounted, as detailed by the Columbus Division of Fire. " We addressed the airway. We also made sure C-spine was intact and we started an IO (Intraosseous) in the left shoulder."
Discussing the value of the run review, Brittany Rohr-White, Senior Outreach Coordinator for the Center for EMS at Ohio State University, emphasized the educational benefits of such debriefings, "It was a unique injury that we just thought the crew would like to know more about and have a chance to speak with the physician who took care of the patient," Rohr-White explained the purpose of the session and added, according to the Columbus Division of Fire. "To give them some feedback on how things went. How to care for patients with this sort of injury in the future and just to tell them that they did a great job."
Dr. Jason Bischof, the emergency room physician who took charge of the patient upon arrival at the hospital, lauded Station 7's crew for their professional handling of the exigent circumstances they transported the patient safely to the hospital, which was critical for the continuation of care, "They did a really good job," Bischof told Columbus Division of Fire, "It was a challenging situation with a complicated extrication and an altered patient, they did a great job of maintaining the most optimal conditions possible in the field."
These run reviews not only enhance prehospital emergency responders' expertise by providing clarity and closure on their patient care but also bridge the gap between field operations and hospital treatment settings, fostering a collaborative and communicative environment conducive to comprehensive patient care. Events like this signify a dedication to ongoing learning, improved performance, and recognition of exceptional work done by first responders and medical personnel alike, for whom the sharing of experiences is not just a matter of protocol but a profound commitment to the well-being of those they serve.
