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Alberta Paramedic Association

Jason — Mon, 11 May 2015 23:42:06 +0000

I know what you are thinking! This site hasn’t had as many updates as I would like. The reason for this is due to my commitment to completing my EMT-P/ACP certification. Further to this I have been assisting with the set up of the Alberta Paramedic Association’s new website.

I am proud to say, that after much work, it is now released! With that, the General Membership has opened up to the public.

Check it out! These guys have their heads on straight (all starting with their low membership cost of $69.99!

I just added a new listing in the must have link list. I really need to refresh it, but if you haven’t checked it out yet, one of my good friends Roger the Rogie Tewson has reopened his blog. He shares his experiences with EMS and everything that effects us.

Rogie The Medic: http://rogiethemedic.dinstudio.com/

Meanwhile, take a look at the APA’s new website

2014 AHA NSTEMI update

Jason — Wed, 01 Oct 2014 17:48:05 +0000

Another round of guidelines are now on the table. For practitioners across Canada this may lead to a possible change in practice. Fortunately it seems, that the changes will not be drastic.

Some interesting things to note:

In the absence of contraindications, it may be reasonable to administer morphine sulfate intravenously to patients with NSTE-ACS if there is continued ischemic chest pain despite treatment with maximally tolerated anti-ischemic medications (Class IIb LOE B)
Measure serial cardiac troponin I or T at presentation and 3-6 hours after symptom onset in all patients with ACS symptoms. Additional troponin levels should be obtained beyond 6 hours in patients with normal troponin levels on serial examination when ECG changes clinical presentation confer an intermediate or high suspicion for ACS. (Class I LOE A)
If the time of symptom onset is ambiguous, the time of presentation should be considered the time of onset for assessing troponin values (Class I LOE A).
- Further reinforcing the need for a good history while on scene.
With contemporary troponin assays, CK-MB and myoglobin are not useful for diagnosis of ACS. (Class III LOE A)
A 12-lead ECG should be performed and interpreted within 10 minutes of the patient’s arrival at an emergency facility to assess for cardiac ischemia or injury
- This protocol used to indicate an experienced physician to interpret the ECG. However that has been removed. This further reinforces the need for all practitioners to know their ECG’s!

Reference: Amsterdam A, et al. 2014 AHA/ACC Guideline for the Management of Patients With Non-ST-Elevation Acute Coronary Syndromes Circulation, epub September 23, 2014.

Peanut Butter Sniff Test Confirms Alzheimer’s

Jason — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 04:38:44 +0000

Posted by Marilee Griffin-Florida on October 8, 2013

A dollop of peanut butter and a ruler might be a way to confirm a diagnosis of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.

Jennifer Stamps, a graduate student in the McKnight Brain Institute Center for Smell and Taste and the University of Florida, came up with the idea of using peanut butter to test for smell sensitivity when she was working with Kenneth Heilman, a professor of neurology at the University of Florida.

FDA approves Truvada for prevention of HIV/AIDS

Jason — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 05:12:16 +0000

Adults who do not have HIV but are at risk of getting the disease will now be able to take a drug to reduce their chance of getting infected. For the first time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a drug for this use on Monday.

The drug is Truvada, an antiretroviral medication made by Gilead Sciences, Inc., which was already approved by the FDA in 2004 to help control HIV infection.

Truvada is a combination of two HIV medications – emtricitabine (Emtriva) andtenofovir (Viread) – into one pill that is taken once a day. As a treatment for HIV, it is always used in combination with other HIV drugs.

Full Story

Post by: Saundra Young – CNN Medical Senior Producer

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/16/fda-approves-truvada-for-prevention-of-hivaids/?hpt=hp_bn12

Paramedics Report Rampant Abuse While Trying to Offer Care

Melissa — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:37:03 +0000

RENATA D’ALIESIO
From Friday’s Globe and Mail
Published Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011 8:23PM EST

Read the report here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/paramedics-report-rampant-abuse-while-trying-to-offer-care/article2286801/

See the survey results here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/violence-perpetrated-against-paramedics/article2286734/?from=2286801

Researchers design Alzheimer’s antibodies

Jason — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 07:28:08 +0000

A surprisingly simple method to target harmful proteins

Troy, N.Y. – Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new method to design antibodies aimed at combating disease. The surprisingly simple process was used to make antibodies that neutralize the harmful protein particles that lead to Alzheimer’s disease.

View Full Article

2011 Nobel Prize Ceremony

Jason — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:35:14 +0000

This years Nobel Prize’s are announced and there will be a ceremony to commemorate the winners. Tomorow Ralph M. Steinman will receive the honor posthumously from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2011 was divided, one half jointly to Bruce A. Beutler and Jules A. Hoffmann “for their discoveries concerning the activation of innate immunity” and the other half to Ralph M. Steinman “for his discovery of the dendritic cell and its role in adaptive immunity”.

Neurotransmitter might improve cancer treatment: study

Jason — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 11:33:50 +0000

Doses of a neurotransmitter might offer a way to boost the effectiveness of anticancer drugs and radiation therapy, according to a new study led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.

Full Article

Ecstasy drug produces lasting toxicity in the brain

Jason — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 03:10:21 +0000

Recreational use of Ecstasy – the illegal “rave” drug that produces feelings of euphoria and emotional warmth – is associated with chronic changes in the human brain, Vanderbilt University investigators have discovered.

Full Article

New study fundamentally alters our understanding of lung growth

Jason — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 03:40:18 +0000

A ground-breaking international study into the ways lungs grow and develop has challenged existing medical understanding that our lungs are completely formed by the age of three.

Full Article