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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 In the United States, ambulance attendants in most large cities are believed to provide emergency respiratory help "to a certain degree, but in smaller communities, probably not," he said. "We would like to suggest that they be adopted on a large scale in smaller communities in North America."
It is relatively easy to help by applying a breathing mask or giving drugs such as nitroglycerine or albuterol, Stiell said. "For really sick patients, you can put in a breathing tube," he said. "You can start an intravenous to draw fluid from the lungs and also put nitroglycerine under the tongue. For asthma, there are inhaled medications."
The treatment phase of the trial was marked by a substantial increase in the use of drugs such as nitroglycerine, the report noted.
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The trial is the latest in a series in which the Canadian researchers have investigated life support measures for out-of-hospital emergency problems, such as cardiac arrest.
The new report is "a real boost to supporters of emergency medical treatment" of respiratory distress, said Dr. Howard Blumstein, associate professor of emergency medicine at Wake Forest University and secretary-treasurer of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine.
"The reason it is important is that, until now, there has been no real evidence that the treatments they provide are actually beneficial to patients," Blumstein said. "There has been a real dearth of research to show benefit."
About half the emergency patients in the Wake Forest area who have respiratory distress get treatment for it, he estimated.
"In our community, in Winston-Salem and all the communities I am familiar with, paramedics working under established protocols had authority already to provide these things without asking permission," Blumstein said.
More information
There's more on the treatment of respiratory problems at the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
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