I am getting some gear ready for a few trips I have coming up, later in the year. Finally off to do some remote clinic work and I have been working in a nice, clean, fully staffed and equipped hospital for far too long. Having all the necessary equipment at my fingertips is a luxuary I am afraid I am used to. I need to purchase some new gear for my “little doctor’s tool kit”. An ENT (ear, nose and throat) kit, BP cuff and a few other diagnostic tools like a glucometer are all on the list.
I have a few criteria for these new items, mainly size and durability. I have been doing some shopping around on the web and have been pretty impressed with the stuff over at RemoteMedical.com, the seem to have some great stuff and decent prices, too! A tough, very small otoscope/opthalmoscope are going to be required and should run on AA or AAA batteries. A BP cuff that includes adult and child size cuffs is also important.
I am constantly surprised at the fact that people read this blog and know that more than a few expedition/remote healthcare providers drop by, from time to time. I am curious what other people are using and why. Any suggestions for some diagnostic gear…let’s hear it!
You can either comment below or mail me directly: adventuredoc (at) gmail.com
Thanks!
From Operational Medicine 2001
3) Pulse pressure – if a blood pressure cuff is not available
(aa) Find the patients pedal pulse – if present, patient has a systolic blood pressure of at least 90 mm Hg
(bb) If the patient has no pedal pulse, attempt to find the radial pulse – if present, patient has a systolic blood pressure of at least 80 mm Hg
(cc) If the patient has no radial pulse, attempt to find the femoral pulse – if present, patient has a systolic blood pressure of at least 70 mm HG
(dd) If the patient has no femoral pulse, attempt to find the carotid pulse – if present, the patient has a systolic blood pressure of at least 60 mm Hg.
PRFC is the memory tool-(perfectly f_cked)
or
kick, punch, knee him, then ripe his throat out
pedal, radial, femoral, carotid
another catchy phrase
do each action to remember it
This is used in casualty survey under austere conditions for volume depletion.