Trauma and Emergency Health Care Manual: A Guide for Nursing and Medical Students

By Kuubiere and Wombeogo

This book entitled Trauma and emergency health care manual: a guide for nursing and medical students is a training tool used at School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) skills laboratory to train nursing and medical students on the basics of emergency health care and management. The expatiation on key emergency or first aid areas such as motor accidents, clothing and helmet removal, functions of a First aider, wounds and fracture management, sepsis and management of infections, resuscitation for both adults and children, poisons, stings and bites are essential for emergency practices in nursing and medical training in Ghana. Emergency care for nurses and medical doctors is a big challenge in the various health facilities in Ghana as almost on daily bases health professionals are confronted with one emergency situation or another due to road traffic or domestic accidents.

This book is meant to provide a fundamental learning tool for nursing and medical students who happen to be front line medical team members during emergencies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Apr 14, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491897812

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© 2014 Wombeogo and Kuubiere. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 04/07/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4918-9780-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-9781-2 (e)

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Authors’ contact

Dr. Michael Wombeogo (PhD (UK), FWACN (Nigeria), FGCNM (Ghana), IPN

Specialist (Belgium), MA (RSA), MSc (UK), MA (UK), BA (Ghana), ADPM (RSA),

PGC (RSA), SRN (Ghana), Head Clinical Skills

Dr. Callistus B. Kuubiere (FACH (Germany), MBCHB (Ghana), BSc (Ghana), Head

Human Biology Dept and Trauma &Orthopaedic Consultant)

School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS)

Box 1350

Tamale Campus

University for Development studies (UDS), Tamale, N/R. Ghana

Tel: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]/[e-mail]

CONTENTS

Foreword

Acknowledgement

Chapter 1 General Principles Of Trauma And Emergency Health Care

Introduction to Emergency health care

What is an accident?

Steps followed when administering First aid in emergency situations

Response during minor ailments

The importance of first aid in Emergency health care

Qualities of emergency health care giver

Limitations

Precautions taken when offering Emergency health care

Measures to prevent or minimise cross infection

Examination of a casualty at the emergency scene

Assessment

The recovery position

History taking and physical examination

History Taking steps

When casualty is conscious

When casualty is unconscious, look for external clues

Table 1 Possible signs and symptoms

Chapter 2 Techniques And Procedures In Emergency Health Care

Clothing removal technique

Removing clothing in upper body injuries

Removing clothing from lower body injuries

Box 1 Removing an open face helmet

Box 2 Removing a close or full helmet or headgear

Monitoring vital signs

Chapter 3 Principles Of Emergency Wound Care

Introduction

What is a wound?

Classification of wounds

Background to the fundamentals of the wound healing process

The clinical (normal) healing mechanism

Factors influencing wound healing

Chapter 4 Principles Of Wound Treatment

Introduction

The objects of wound treatment

Methods of treating wounds

Chapter 5 Essentials Of Anti-Sepsis And Asepsis

Introduction

Antisepsis

Asepsis

Rapid hands disinfection in emergencies

Chapter 6 Bleeding From Special Regions Of The Body

Introduction

Bleeding from the mouth

Bleeding from the nose (Epistaxis)

Bleeding from the lungs

Bleeding from the urinary tract

Bleeding from the rectum

The oesophagus and stomach regions

Bleeding from the ear (the acoustic meatus)

Bleeding under the skin

Chapter 7 Principles And Management Of Shock

Introduction

Causes

Characteristics

Treatment

Types of shock and their treatments

Diagnosis and treatment

Chapter 8 Principles And Management Of Asphyxia And Resuscitation

Causes

Signs and symptoms

Treatment methods and procedures

Heimlich Manoeuvre

Resuscitation

Phases of the terminal state

Disturbances of the organ function during the terminal state

Manual resuscitation techniques

Emergencies requiring CPR

Artificial respiration

Introduction

When artificial respiration is used

Principles behind exhaled air resuscitation

Human intervention techniques

Mouth-to-mouth (kiss of life)

Disadvantages of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation

Mouth-to-nose technique

Advantages of exhaled air resuscitation (EAR)

Sylvester Brosche method

The Heimlich manoeuvre

Procedure for Heimlich manoeuvre

Chapter 9 Principles Of Managing And Caring For Burns And Scalds

Introduction

Degrees of severity of burns or scalds

Depth of Burns

Superficial burns

Partial-thickness burns

Full-thickness Burns

Extent of Burns

In a healthy adult:

Severe Burns and Scalds

Complications

Assessing a Burn

Treatment

Severe Burns

Minor Burns

Burns to the Mouth and Throat

Treatment of Burns to the Mouth and Throat

Minor Burns and Scalds

Treatment of Minor Burns and Scalds

Chapter 10 Principles Of Managing Fractures

Causes

Symptoms

Classification of fractures

Treatment of fractures in emergency situation

Chapter 11 General Principles And Causes Of Unconsciousness

Fainting (Syncope)

Infantile convulsions

Chapter 12 Poisons And Management In Poisoning

Introduction

Types of poisons

Food poisoning

Prevention methods

Chapter 13 Stings And Bites

Signs and symptoms

Treating Bee, Wasp and Hornet Stings

Emergency management

Scorpion sting

Signs and symptoms

Treatment

Bites

Treating Spider Bites

Black Widow Spider Bite

Brown Recluse Spider Bite

Non-Venomous Stings and Bites

Bibliography

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to all nursing and medical students of

School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS), Tamale

Campus, University for Development Studies (UDS).

ABOUT THE BOOK

This book entitled Trauma and emergency health care manual: a guide for nursing and medical students is a training tool used at School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) skills laboratory to train nursing and medical students on the basics of emergency health care and management. The expatiation on key emergency or first aid areas such as motor accidents, clothing and helmet removal, functions of a First aider, wounds and fracture management, sepsis and management of infections, resuscitation for both adults and children, poisons, stings and bites are essential for emergency practices in nursing and medical training in Ghana. Emergency care for nurses and medical doctors is a big challenge in the various health facilities in Ghana as almost on daily bases health professionals are confronted with one emergency situation or another due to road traffic or domestic accidents.

This book is meant to provide a fundamental learning tool for nursing and medical students who happen to be front line medical team members during emergencies.

FOREWORD

This book entitled Trauma and emergency health care manual: a guide for nursing and medical students, is a training tool used at School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) skills laboratory to train nursing and medical students on the basics of emergency health care and management. The expatiation on key emergency or first aid areas such as motor accidents, wounds and fracture management, poisons, stings and bites are essential for emergency practices in nursing and medical training in Ghana. The production of this book has been provoked by the burning concern of nursing students at SMHS of UDS to facilitate learning and skills acquisition in this direction.

We are sincerely grateful to the students and staff of the SMHS particularly those who encouraged me to produce this book.

Dr. Michael Wombeogo

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We acknowledge the support of our families, friends and students of School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) of University for Development Studies (UDS). The authors of books, journals and articles from which we made references to, we duly acknowledge you for your impressive pioneering work in this subject matter.

This book would not be made possible without the support and cooperation of the Vice Chancellor and the Dean of SMHS and the Head of Allied Health Sciences department. We acknowledge the support of Alhaji I.K Antwi, University Librarian of UDS for proof reading and helping with the publication of this book.

Above all we are highly humbled for the grace and love the Almighty God bestowed on us to facilitate the production of this book. Amen!!!

The Authors

CHAPTER 1

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF TRAUMA

AND EMERGENCY HEALTH CARE

Introduction to Emergency health care

The growing publicity in recent times associated with fatal accidents on the roads, in the factories, at the domestic environment, at school and at playgrounds, is arousing the public conscience and increasing the demands for emergency health care training needs.

Emergency primary health care often referred to as First Aid, is a combination of emergency medical measures used in the event of a sudden illness or accident which is aimed at saving or sustaining life till appropriate medical/surgical attention is available to enhance it.

Emergency primary health care is a broad phenomenon of health strategies applied in an immediate and coincidental circumstance in order to avert further suffering, regression of disease condition, danger, and eventual loss of life. Unlike general emergency health care, First Aid is all other forms of assistance available at the instance of the first aid giver and offered for any form of illness or accident pending the arrival of or access to definitive medical assistance.

Persons who offer emergency health care