Transporting patients with spine or spinal cord injuries can be a painful and complicated process, especially if the transport is uncurated. Before being admitted to a specialty care center, individuals with acute spinal cord injuries (SCI) must make repeated transfers between rooms, wards, and departments, or even between other hospitals. The goal is to maintain full spinal alignment throughout any movement and handling activities if there is a reasonable suspicion of acute SCI. On every occasion, gentle handling, positioning, and turning can prevent or greatly minimize patient pain and discomfort. It also lowers the risk of skin injury and secondary spinal cord injuries. Here is all you need to know about the transportation of spinal injury patients.
How to Identify a Spinal Injury Patient?
Do not move the person if you suspect a back or neck (spinal) injury. Permanent paralysis and other significant consequences are possible outcomes. Assume a person has a spinal injury if they have any of the following symptoms:
- There is evidence of a brain injury, as well as a change in the person’s state of consciousness over time.
- The person is in excruciating agony in his or her neck or back.
- A significant amount of force has been applied to the back or head as a result of an injury.
- The person feels weak, numb, or paralyzed, and can’t control his or her limbs, bladder, or intestines.
- The neck or body is twisted or positioned unusually.
What to Do, if You Suspect Someone to Have a Spinal Injury?
- Seek immediate medical assistance.
- Maintain the person’s stillness: To prevent movement, place heavy towels or rolled sheets on both sides of the neck, or keep the head and neck in place.
- Move your head and neck as little as possible: As much first aid as you can while keeping the person’s head and neck still. Begin CPR if there are no signs of circulation (breathing, coughing, or movement), but do not tilt the head back to access the airway. Gently grab the jaw with your fingers and lift it forward. Start chest compressions if the subject has no pulse.
- Wear your helmet at all times: Remove the helmet if the person is wearing one. If you need to get to the inside of a football helmet, remove the facemask.
- Don’t go at it alone: You’ll need at least one other person if you have to roll the individual because he or she is vomiting, choking on blood, or you need to make sure the person is still breathing. Work together to keep the wounded person’s head, neck, and back aligned while rolling them to one side, with one of you at the head and the other at the injured person’s side.
Transporting Patients With Spinal Cord Injuries
Patients who have sustained a serious spinal cord injury may require months of treatment and rehabilitation at spinal cord injury hospitals and treatment facilities. These facilities could be rather far away from the hospital where the patient received their initial treatment. After the patient has been stabilized, MediOps services are the best option for transporting the patient to a new treatment center that is several hours away. To ensure effective transportation, your means of transport should be customized with the following:
1. Firm, Cushioned Surface for Support
The restraints must be firm enough to allow cardiopulmonary resuscitation to be administered, and they must be adjustable to reduce patient movement during transport and side-to-side rotation.
2. Side-to-Side Rotation
The mode of conveyance should allow for side-to-side surface rotation, which is beneficial in reducing pulmonary, cardiovascular, and skin breakdown issues.
3. Trendelenburg/Reverse Trendelenburg
The patient’s head or feet should be able to be elevated and lowered 15 degrees.
4. Integrated Traction
Shall be engineered to sustain consistent force traction when the surface rotates side-to-side, with traction levels ranging from O-65 pounds in 5-pound increments. Traction will be provided for the cervical spine, upper and lower extremities, and will be independent of acceleration.
5. Patient Accessibility
Medical workers must be able to administer routine and emergency nursing care with ease. The surface must allow access to the occipital, thoracic, and rectal areas so that patient care can be performed without removing the patient from the surface or jeopardizing the spine’s stability and alignment.
6. The Radiolucent Surface
Must be built to allow X-rays of the patient’s complete spinal column, chest, and lower abdomen without removing the patient from the surface.
7. Vacuum Mattresses Are Comfortable for Spinal Injury Patients
They reduce tissue interface pressure during the transportation of patients.
8. Spinal Board
A spine board makes it easy to transfer a spinal injury patent from an ambulance stretcher. You might consider having a spinal board while transporting a patient. A patient can be placed on a spine board in a variety of ways. The technique employed will be determined by the amount of space available and the patient’s position inside that space. Throughout the process, use a c-collar or manual cervical in-line stabilization to avoid spinal compression or traction. The patient can be slid onto the backboard, feet first or head first, for lengthwise extrication, such as from a vehicle seat.
During this procedure, the patient must be moved as a whole. Place one end of the backboard on the automobile’s seat or doorsill. At least two other rescuers move the patient’s body onto the board while one stabilizes the opposite end of the board.
To preserve neurological function and prevent further injury from spinal instability, it is critical to reducing unintentional spinal motion during transportation of patients with cervical spine injuries. A variety of transportation methods can be used to deliver injured people to the nearest definitive care facility. The form of transportation chosen is determined by the patient’s overall medical condition, the distance to the next capable facility, and the resources available.
Why Choose Us?
Medi-Ops offers medical services that you can trust. We are a technology-enabled medical logistics and transportation company that brings a fresh approach to medical supply chains. Our objective is to reinvent the business by harnessing our team’s culture of creativity and compassion; producing a more reliable, efficient, and sustainable industry. Our experience is in planning and coordinating all elements of medical transportation, both emergency and non-emergent. This includes both air and ground medical couriers, ambulance transportation, NEMT transportation, and various professional services. If you need to customize your transportation, contact us today!