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WMN Editors

SHOCK

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Your mountain rescue team receives a call from dispatch around 4pm requesting that your team respond to a canyon area for a report of an injured hiker. The area is out of cell phone range. A member of the injured hiker’s party hiked for 2 hours to get to an area with cell phone reception. He reported that his friend, AJ, slipped and fell 100’ down a steep slope and was complaining of left lower leg and lower back pain. He left AJ with 2 other friends and came out to get help.

The hiking group is on a distant trail that switchbacks up a steep canyon wall for approximately 2 miles. It is estimated that they are 6 miles from the trailhead and response time will be at least 3 hours.

ISSN-1059-6518

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WMN Editors

Critical Care and the Patient Assessment System Part II

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This is the second of two articles on the Patient Assessment System (PAS). In the first article, we reviewed the entire PAS, paying particular attention to the areas of the PAS that can indicate an emergent problem requiring immediate care. In this edition of the WMN, we will review the PAS and Critical Care—taking a close look at the patient’s chief complaints which would indicate an underlying potentially life-threatening injury or illness that would necessitate immediate care and attention. In particular, we will review the differential diagnosis and management for changes in level of consciousness, chest pain, shortness of breath, and shock.

May/June 2007    ISSN-1059-6518    Volume 20 Number 3

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