Would you stick that laryngoscope blade in your mouth ????

[medic429]

Shtttpuppoesooeosleoi, woveoiww Acaoerraioea, watehekwetio, a dsfsnafweo;i akfdjwefjwoejoio... Oh, sorry checking the cleanliness of my laryngoscope blade. Guess I have to go clean it now. .

:laughing6: :laughing6: :laughing6:

[AZCEP]

Let's give this one the benefit of the doubt and say that there is a correlation between dirty equipment and increased patient mortality, and longer hospital stays, and more financial burden created. Let's even go one step further and say that this relationship only occurs in those patients we perform invasive procedures on.

Let's, for a moment, completely eliminate the possibility that hospitals are breeding grounds for all manner of new, resistant bugs. MRSA anyone? Let's also eliminate the patient's residence as well. We all know that our clientele is not always the most hygenic of individuals, or they have difficulty getting to regular primary care facilities, so they call us. TB anyone? Now let's consider all of the other equipment in a transporting unit. How well was the gurney cleaned after that last patient? Did we make sure to disinfect the blood pressure cuff and stethoscope? No, that's okay we only used them once, and the patient had intact skin. What could they have possibly left for the next patient?

I'd wager that should our patient successfully navigate this minefield of possible infection, the last thing they have to worry about is us inserting a less-than-optimally-cleaned laryngoscope blade into, quite possibly, the single most unsanitary orifice above their waist.

Bang the drum GA, just pick the right drum next time.

[Ace844]

Slightly :

BUT STILL AN ADDITIONAL CONCERN!!

I am also curious to know then if they allow their clinicians to wear nail polish or fake nails at work?...?

::

[TerrfyinFlyinSrvc]

Ace wrote:

I am also curious to know then if they allow their clinicians to wear nail polish or fake nails at work?...?

Now there is an issue that should absolutely not be allowed in a health care situation. I've seen some funky, funky fingernail fungi on the fake nail girls.

Gross enough that I'd rather be bladed and tubed using an old radiator clamp and a length of heater hose you found in the gutter, than have some of these girl's nails in my mouth.

Check the nails you see a convenience stores and fast food joints. Blech!!

neal

[AZCEP]

Gee Ace, I think you made the pilot sick. :shock:

And strangely no responses from GA. Hmmm, maybe he wore himself out finding the next pet cause to espouse.

Just when things started getting interesting too. :?

[Ace844]

Gee Ace, I think you made the pilot sick. :shock:

And strangely no responses from GA. Hmmm, maybe he wore himself out finding the next pet cause to espouse.

Just when things started getting interesting too. :?

Just so as not to offend any of the PC crowd i purposely made this a gender neutral statement, though that I am sure went unnoticed by card carrying ACLU value espousing GAmedic..... :roll: Still a bigger issue than a less than optimally clean laryngoscope blade...but I digress....Someone I know tried to augment the cleaning of an old school stainless blade with AJAX and a brillo in addition to cidefex, and well lets just say it left an interesting looking film on the blades...I wonder how that tastes? Any one up for a lick to let us know???

ACE

[GAmedic1506]

The question was would you put your current blades, as they sit in your bag, in your mouth. I didnt mention anything about intubation, but since everyone is hedging with "If I were dying - yes", I guess the answer is no. The restaurant industry has a saying that goes, "If you wouldn't eat it, dont serve it to your customers!". My question is that if it is so nasty that you wont put it in your mouth, why is it good enough for your patients. And no, I am not concerned over dust or sand, I am concerned about the germs from the last patient's vomit or blood. If you were about to have routine surgery, and the Anesthesiologist was using the same practice for his blades that you do for yours, would you allow it to be placed in your mouth ? And not everything in life requires a scientific study to determine right or wrong. I dont need a scientific study to figure out whether or not i want to drink someone else's urine. Most scientific studies would conclude that it is OK, because urine is essentially sterile, but I still wouldnt drink it. Nor do I need a scientific study to figure out whether or not I want a properly cleaned laryngoscope blade put in my mouth (regardless of the percentage of transmitted diseases). Have any of you ever swabbed the various surfaces and equipment in your trucks, and sent it to your local lab to see what you are growing ?

We all know that Hepatitis can live in dried blood for days, we know that community acquired MRSA is on the upswing (there is a good scientifc study for you -- all those supposed spider-bites we have been treating where the patient couldn't remember being bit, was really community acquired MRSA -- see CDC article on their website), we know that there is a possible pending pandemic from Avian Flu, and that all of our antibiotics are getting weaker, yet it is apparantly unreasonable to ask EMS personnel to clean their equipment properly.

I will admit that the vast majority of EMS blades are clean enough, if you will admit that you have on occassion picked-up a blade during morning check-off that had dried emesis or blood on it (tucked around the lightbulb or in a crease), but was in your bag for patient use. How long has that Cidex or other agent been soaking in your sink ? Does everyone dilute agents that require dilution properly, or just eyeball it ? Have you ever seen someone just run the blade under sink water to get the chunks off, and then spray it with 1-10 bleach, and put it back in the bag ? I agree, that disposable is probably the way to go, but if not, you should work out an autoclave agreement with your local hospital. I know you hate it when I am right, and I am causing considerable heart-burn, but this isnt about me -- do the right thing for your patients, you would demand no less if your family was in the back of another company's ambulance.

[Ace844]

The question was would you put your current blades, as they sit in your bag, in your mouth. I didnt mention anything about intubation, but since everyone is hedging with "If I were dying - yes", I guess the answer is no. The restaurant industry has a saying that goes, "If you wouldn't eat it, dont serve it to your customers!". My question is that if it is so nasty that you wont put it in your mouth, why is it good enough for your patients. And no, I am not concerned over dust or sand, I am concerned about the germs from the last patient's vomit or blood. If you were about to have routine surgery, and the Anesthesiologist was using the same practice for his blades that you do for yours, would you allow it to be placed in your mouth ?

Kindly respond to my previous requests in this thread for stats and verifiable information to back up your points and standards, as well as other information.

Thank You,

ACE844

[Ace844]

hmmmmm.....got real quiet, real quick.... :roll: :shock:

[TechMedic05]

hmmmmm.....got real quiet, real quick.... :roll: :shock:

All across the boards.