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Point-of-care ultrasonography during rescue operations on board a Polish Medical Air Rescue helicopter

Tomasz Darocha1,2, Robert Gałązkowski1,3, Dorota Sobczyk4, Zbigniew Żyła1, Rafał Drwiła2

Affiliation and address for correspondence
J Ultrason 2014; 14: 414–420
DOI: 10.15557/JoU.2014.0043
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Abstract

Point-of-care ultrasound examination has been increasingly widely used in pre-hospital care. The use of ultrasound in rescue medicine allows for a quick differential diagnosis, identification of the most important medical emergencies and immediate introduction of targeted treatment. Performing and interpreting a pre-hospital ultrasound examination can improve the accuracy of diagnosis and thus reduce mortality. The authors’ own experiences are presented in this paper, which consist in using a portable, hand-held ultrasound apparatus during rescue operations on board a Polish Medical Air Rescue helicopter. The possibility of using an ultrasound apparatus during helicopter rescue service allows for a full professional evaluation of the patient’s health condition and enables the patient to be brought to a center with the most appropriate facilities for their condition.

Keywords
rescue service, helicopter medical rescue service, emergency ultrasound