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TS,
this just goes to show that the average american patient is very different than the average military personnel. Those who defend this county and fight for everything good are in no way todays "average" american.(in a lot of ways)...therefore we can assume and I'll see about proving this, that the military personel that would need a chest decompression would be well served by carrying a 5 (to 6cm) cm decompression needle. They are NOT obese or carrying so much chest wall muscle mass that this size needle won't penetrate >90% of the time. There remains a HUGE difference between civilian/EMS and military medicine...that is one of my main points...some similarity but a lot of difference.
I will be contacting associates at military hospitals and have them do a sample of chest CT scans for wall thickness.....this should be interesting!!
ss
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'Revel in action, translate perceptions into instant judgements, and these into actions that are irrevocable, monumentous and dreadful - all this with lightning speed, in conditions of great stress and in an environment of high tension:what is expected of "us" is the impossible, yet we deliver just that.
(adapted from: Sherwin B. Nuland, MD, surgeon and author: The Wisdom of the Body, 1997 )
Education is the anti-ignorance we all need to better treat our patients. ss, 2008.
The blade is so sharp that the incision is perfect. They don't realize they've been cut until they're out of the fight: A Surgeon Warrior. I use a knife to defend life and to save it. ss (aka traumadoc)
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