Is centralization in emergency rural medicine always right? Lessons learned from two cases of decompression sickness.
Rural and Remote Health · 2011-01-01 · Case report
Abstract
The cases of two patients with decompression sickness (DS) are described to add to the discussion about whether centralization, especially when accompanied by air-medical transport, is always justifiable in island emergency medicine. One patient received hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment on another island after island-to-island transfer by boat; the other received HBO treatment on a ship that was anchored, by chance, close to the island where he became ill. Both cases had a good outcome. Island-to-island transport and within-island treatment, rather than island-to-urban-center transport, was effective, indicating that treatment centralization may not be the most effective protocol all cases. A DS treatment strategy is proposed for use in this geographic area; however, DS occurring on remote islands highlights the wider issue of the centralization of health services.
Abstract © the authors or publisher, via PubMed. Reuse and removal
Tags
Helicopter & air ambulance · Other drugs · Oxygen · Rural & remote
Related articles
- Emergency Medical Services and Remote Medical Oversight in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, 2011-2013. (Wilderness Environ Med, 2018)
- Evaluating the Introduction of Humidified High-Flow Nasal Cannula Therapy Into an Australian Aeromedical Service Within a Paediatric Population: A Retrospective Cohort Study. (Emerg Med Australas, 2025)
- Oxygen inhalation using an oxygen concentrator in a low-pressure environment outside of a hospital. (Am J Emerg Med, 2008)
- Vibration and bubbles: a systematic review of the effects of helicopter retrieval on injured divers. (Diving Hyperb Med, 2018)
- Physiological effects of providing supplemental air for avalanche victims. A randomised trial. (Resuscitation, 2022)
- Care of the Injured Patients at Nursing Stations and during Air Medical Transport. (Air Med J, 2018)