Latest news with #CriticalCare
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Welsh Ambulance Service to lead study on emergency video consultation
Live video consultations could be used to help decision-making in response to 999 calls following a study being led ay the Welsh Ambulance Service. The 999 RESPOND-2 study is being funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research and aims to improve decision-making around whether to send Enhanced Critical Care Teams to emergency calls. These teams deliver advanced care for seriously ill and injured patients at the scene of an incident. It is currently difficult for control room clinicians to fully capture the complexity and volume of information they need to make the best decision. Advances in technology have enabled ambulance services to test live-stream video from callers' smart phones during an emergency call, to help ambulance staff assess quickly and accurately how urgently help is needed for an unwell patient. Professor Nigel Rees, assistant director of research and innovation at the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: 'We're studying how emergency critical care teams size up risk and severity in high pressured and time sensitive situations. 'We are doing this by comparing video consultation calls, where clinicians can see the patient, the accident scene and other factors as opposed to traditional 999 calls, where the clinician can only make a decision based on descriptions from the caller. 'We hope to learn more about who sees what, who says what and how these decisions shape emergency response when seconds matter and really can be the difference between life and death. 'From major trauma to severe medical emergencies, ECCTs are integral to pre-hospital and emergency services, but they are a finite resource.' The study is the first to consider the impact of live-stream video in how people communicate with each other in 999 calls and to provide evidence on whether live-stream videos can overcome some limitations of audio 999 calls. It is a collaboration between clinicians and researchers across the Welsh Ambulance Service, West Midlands Ambulance Service, University of Warwick, University of Bristol, Imperial College London, Aberystwyth University, the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service and the Wales Air Ambulance Charity.
News18
27-04-2025
- Health
- News18
Protecting Infants: The Resurgence of Whooping Cough and the Importance of Vaccination
By ensuring that infants, children, adolescents, and adults are up to date on their pertussis vaccinations, we can collectively protect the most vulnerable members of our community Whooping cough – or pertussis – is a very serious respiratory (lungs and breathing tubes) infection caused by the pertussis bacteria. It causes violent coughing fits that are difficult to stop. Whooping cough is most harmful to young babies. Until recently, pertussis had not been recognized as an important public health challenge in India due to the success of the infant immunization program. However, India still accounts for a large proportion of the world's cases, and increasing reports of pertussis in other countries and in neonates have renewed interest in the disease among Indian authorities. Dr. Praveen Khilnani, Chairman, Critical Care Paediatrics (PICU), Paediatric Pulmonology, Paediatric Care, Medanta, Gurugram, shares all you need to know: Before the widespread availability of the pertussis vaccine, the disease was a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. A contributing factor to its resurgence is the phenomenon of 'cocooning," where adults and adolescents, who may have waning immunity or be asymptomatic carriers, unknowingly transmit the bacteria to unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated infants. The Impact on Infants and Young Children Pertussis is particularly dangerous for infants under one year old. Their immune systems are not fully developed, making them highly susceptible to severe complications. Whooping cough often starts with symptoms like a runny or stuffed-up nose, sneezing, mild cough, and apnea in babies, which can initially be mistaken for allergies or seasonal flu. Severe coughing typically begins after 1 to 2 weeks. Babies and children may then develop more serious problems, such as difficulty breathing, eating, drinking, or sleeping due to coughing fits, turning blue during coughing from lack of oxygen, and vomiting after coughing episodes. Coughing fits can last up to 10 weeks and may recur with subsequent respiratory illnesses. Vaccination remains the most effective strategy for preventing pertussis and protecting infants and young children. India offers both whole-cell pertussis and acellular pertussis vaccines, but vaccine coverage remains inconsistent across regions due to differences in vaccine availability, access to healthcare, and regional administrative challenges. The best way to protect against whooping cough is by getting the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis shot (also called the DTP shot). Doctors recommend that all children receive the vaccine on schedule. Beyond vaccination, practicing good hygiene, such as frequent handwashing and covering coughs and sneezes, can help reduce the spread of pertussis. Early diagnosis and treatment with antibiotics are also crucial to shorten the duration of illness and prevent further transmission. Over the last two decades, there has been a resurgence of pertussis even though primary immunization with the pertussis vaccine is widely practiced. The resurgence underscores the critical importance of maintaining high vaccination rates. By ensuring that infants, children, adolescents, and adults are up to date on their pertussis vaccinations, we can collectively protect the most vulnerable members of our community and prevent the devastating consequences of this preventable disease.
