Citation

Yanagawa Y, Ohsaka H, Oode Y, Omori K. J. Rural Med. 2019; 14(2): 249-252.

Affiliation

Department of Acute Critical Care Medicine, Shizuoka Hospital, Juntendo University, Japan.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Japanese Association of Rural Medicine)

DOI

10.2185/jrm.3002

PMID

31788152

PMCID

PMC6877926

Abstract

Objective: To demonstrate the use of a portable X-ray system at the scene. Patient: A 59-year-old man collapsed under a small power shovel and was discovered by his colleague. The fire department dispatched an ambulance and requested the dispatch of a doctor helicopter (DH) immediately after receiving the emergency call. When the staff of the DH used a portable X-ray system to assess the patient at the rendezvous point, he was found to have experienced a cardiac arrest with deformity of the face. Portable chest X-ray in the ambulance revealed decreased radiolucency of the lung fields without pneumothorax, and tracheal tube insertion was successful. Portable pelvic X-ray also showed no trauma. Portable cranial X-ray revealed orbital fracture. Although we urgently transported the patient to our hospital by the DH, he unfortunately died of circulatory arrest caused by his severe injuries. Based on the portable X-ray findings obtained at the scene, we suspected that the patient's cardiac arrest had been caused by severe head and/or neck injuries. Conclusion: This portable X-ray system may be able to change and facilitate the management of patients with trauma dramatically by simplifying prehospital diagnoses even in rural areas.

©2019 The Japanese Association of Rural Medicine.

Language: en

Keywords

physician-staffed helicopter; portable X-ray; prehospital