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Nurses given tips on tackling medical emergencies

PUDUCHERRY: Be it neurological or respiratory emergencies, the management of Airway, Breathing and Circulation - known as ABC - was vital, according to Medical Superintendent of Indira Gandhi Government General Hospital and Post Graduate Institute (IGGGH & PGI) V. Govindaraj on Sunday.

Speaking on “Nursing management of medical emergencies” at the Continuing Nursing Education (C.N.E), he elaborated on the essential medical care required for emergency cases.

He discussed various neurological emergencies such as coma, seizure, syncope and stroke to a group of around 80 nurses from IGGGH & PGI and Vinayaka Mission Nursing College.

“When the degree of coma increases, the management too should be intensified. The management of ABC must come before investigation,” he said. It was important to clear the airway, check for respiratory rate and pulse of the patient. “The nurses should check the depth of coma, movement of eyes, respiratory pattern motor function and vital signs in the patient,” he said.

Explaining the possible causes of coma, he said it could be owing to alcohol, epilepsy, insulin, overdose and uremia. For emergency cases of seizure, he insisted that nurses should try to find the primary cause for the condition. He advised the nurses not to make the patient stand and administer injections. “Make them lie down, do not get jittery, be confident and be free of mental tension,” he said.

“The nurses should have a high index of suspicion for any case,” Dr. Govindaraj said. Moving onto to management of diabetes, he said the nurses should begin insulin administration as soon as the patient was fit to eat and inject at least 30 minutes before stopping intra venous insulin.

“Ask all diabetics these questions – have you eaten today, have you taken your medication today,” he said.

In cases of poisoning, Dr. Govindaraj said it was important to treat patients and not the poison. “Identify the poison and then move to treatment. Proper support of ABC is necessary. Take the history of the case and save sample for analysis if the patient vomits,” he said.

Nurses should not take cases of insect bite lightly. For such patients, the nurses should remove the stinger, manage airway, give oxygen and assist ventilation, he added. Project Director of the CNE H. Ranganath said that they would be honouring a male and female nurse who had retired from the next C.N.E. programme.

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