firedoc5 Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 We were called to a truck stop for a young girl that passed out while riding on a chartered bus with a youth group going home after seeing the Pope in St.Louis. Had 13yr. old girl, sitting in a folding chair. Skin pale, slightly diaphoretic. Vomited x3. Find out the air conditioner on the bus had gone out, but she said she was feeling very sick before that. Put the girl on the monitor showing sinus brady @ 50-60. No sign of hyperventilation. She did just start her period, nothing unusual. About that time another girl, 17, started to have the same complaint. OK, one more to transport, no problem. But she did refuse a flat lay. The 13yr. old said she felt better after 4L O2. Right before leaving, two others started in. Call for a second ambulance. We stayed until the second unit arrives even thought the 17yr. old is increasingly getting sicker. Before we knew it, had seven go down. Luckily the one Rescue truck did have transport capability. Heat, fumes from the bus, lack of proper diet, dehydration? All these were addressed. To this day I still say it was a combination of all the issues listed above. To me, big clue was that most felt better after O2. If I remember right three of the kids were admitted for 23hr. observation. Later on nothing was really said what the ER doc concluded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
air.stump Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 CO poisoning? Did they do a carboxyhemaglobin in the ER? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dahlio Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 CO poisoning? Indeed, my index of suspicion starts when there are two patients at a non-traumatic scene which of course might be coincidental, and I start to think about calling additional resources once there is a third. There's no way I can rule out whether it's a gas in the air, or whether they all ate bad steak for dinner last night. Interesting scenario you had going on here. Did you end up transporting 7 patients? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firedoc5 Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 Interesting scenario you had going on here. Did you end up transporting 7 patients? Yep, all 7. And I'm not sure but I think there were a couple of more that came in on their own. One of my first suggestions was to have the bus' exhaust system inspected. And since the air cond. was out, could it have been pumping some kind of fumes into the bus? Or since there was a decrease in air flow, fumes built up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBEMT Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Immediate steps should be to evacuate the bus, close the doors and windows, and request Fire for a CO and Multigas meter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doczilla Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 I agree with the other recommendations here with regards to evacuation and testing for CO. I think this is the most likely culprit. Something else to consider: folks of this age are sometimes given to mass stupidity, and an ingestion of a drug, plant, or something else should be considered. 'zilla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akflightmedic Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Wow! Loyal sympathetic friends maybe? LOL They just did not want her to be ill by herself and/or get more attention than them. We all know how competetive females can be. Which reminds me, during each of the wife's pregnancies, I used to get sore nipples, swollen ankles and low back pain. Hmmmm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scaramedic Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 But she did refuse a flat lay. We don't want to hear about your attempts at getting some on scene. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mateo_1387 Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 We don't want to hear about your attempts at getting some on scene. Yes we do want to hear it. How did you get away with it? Any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firedoc5 Posted June 9, 2008 Author Share Posted June 9, 2008 Yes we do want to hear it. How did you get away with it? Any advice? Contrary to popular belief, I never did get a "flat lay" in a rig. :read: No letters to the editor of Playboy. On a very serious point, guys, anytime you have a minor female and you don't have a woman partner, always, always request the mother or another close relative to ride in with you. When it's a youth group, like a class trip, get a female sponsor ride in with you. I learned quickly from the mistakes of others. Don't get burned. I know most of you already know that, it's just a reminder, and to the "young'uns" up and coming, it's just some advice from an elder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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