Chris Ebright

Parents don't know that inhalants - cheap, legal and accessible products, are as popular as marijuana. Even fewer know the deadly effects the poisons in these products have on the brain and body when they are inhaled or "huffed." It's like playing Russian Roulette - the user can die the 1st, 10th or 100th time a product is misused. This presentation will explain the pathophysiology of various gases, nitrites, volatile substances and other information you need to know about this deadly underground problem affecting teens and pre-teens.

Luckily, most pre-hospital deliveries involve a catch, suctioning and warming the newborn. Sometimes though, Murphy’s Law gets in the way - resulting in a complicated birth. Topics including placenta previa, abruptio placenta, shoulder dystocia, CPD and breech birth are explained in this not-always-necessary-but-essential-to-know presentation.

Need to brush up on some basic musculoskeletal assessment and management? This lecture will help get you back up to speed on caring for various injuries and the complications associated with fractures and dislocations. If nothing else, just come to see all of the cool pictures!

One of the most common calls to which an EMS provider responds is the classic “shortness of breath”. While there are many causes behind this chief complaint, this presentation focuses upon the 2 main types of COPD - emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Both disease processes' pathophysiology are compared and contrasted as well as their signs and symptoms. This presentation is audience interactive and follows an imaginary storyline of two patients named Betty and Earl that helps to solidify the differences and commonalities of these two respiratory emergencies.

One time or another, we take the call for a patient that we know all too well. Sometimes it's a family member, a friend, and in one terrible instance - a co-worker. Based on an actual EMS call, this presentation correlates real timeline history, events, and preventative treatments for a fellow colleague with the underlying pathophysiology of a pulmonary embolism. Various signs, predisposing risk factors and origins of emboli formation are all tied together to give a global perspective of the acute and, in this case, fatal event that shocked and stunned an entire EMS service.

When the kidneys fail, your patient becomes sick with a variety of non-specific signs and symptoms. Whether from an acute situation or from a chronic problem, kidney failure may lead a patient being dependent on dialysis. This presentation helps you gain some insight into the challenges these patients provide to the EMS professional.

Based on an actual event, this case study presentation follows the development of the pathophysiology, signs, symptoms and treatment of a severe anaphylactic reaction

Pediatric patients are often loaded and transported without adequate assessment or management. Furthermore, respiratory problems can present as life-threatening conditions, increasing an EMS responders’ anxiety This informative presentation will leave you with a greater understanding of the differences in pediatric airways, pathophysiology, signs and symptoms and treatment options at the BLS and ALS levels for various inflammatory and traumatic issues with a child's upper and lower airway.

Sepsis is a systemic infection that presents a management challenge to those who care for infants and children. Caring for a septic child can sometimes cause anxiety and fear in even the most seasoned EMT or paramedic. The EMS professional must be familiar with the signs and symptoms of this possible life-threatening event, and vigilant in his or her examination. This presentation will help you to recognize and properly intervene, which is essential to improve patient outcome.

Severe asthma is becoming more prevalent in American children, and mortality has risen sharply in the past decade. Any EMS professional may be faced with the asthmatic child in severe respiratory distress or impending respiratory failure that has not been relieved with their usual bronchodilator therapy. These scary patients need more aggressive treatment than what is usually required and this discussion will show you how to do just that at the basic and advanced levels of care.

More often these days, cases keep coming forth of children and young adults going into sudden, unexplained cardiac arrest. Commonly, there is an underlying non-diagnosis of what is known as “long QT syndrome” - a congenital disorder characterized by a prolongation of the QT interval on electrocardiograms. This disturbance has a propensity to produce ventricular tachyarrhythmias, which may lead to syncope or cardiac arrest/sudden death in a pediatric or young adult patient. This presentation will explain the pathophysiology, medications and genetics of long QT and how it might be the cause of your next code.

Sudden death due to ventricular fibrillation may occur when a projectile, such as a baseball or hockey puck strikes the chest of a child with no underlying cardiac disease. This is known as commotio cordis. Although it is a relatively rare event, quick assessment, resuscitation and defibrillation can many times produce a favorable outcome. This presentation will explain the pathophysiology and treatment of this anomaly.

A ventricular assist device (VAD) is a device that is used to partially or completely replace the function of a failing heart. Some VAD’s are intended for short term use, typically for patients recovering from heart attacks or heart surgery, while others are intended for long-term use. These devices are becoming more and more common and EMS personnel need to know what they can and can’t do with these patients.

Sports-related concussions are serious, widely prevalent, and often underreported traumatic brain injuries with potential for significant long-term deleterious effects on the athlete and beyond. Since 2009, all 50 states have adopted legislation regarding concussions in sports and return to play protocols in conjunction with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Heads Up campaign. This presentation will discuss the pathophysiology and sequelae of concussion as well as proper evaluation and management.

Cardiogenic shock secondary to myocardial malfunction has serious consequences for any patient experiencing an AMI. This presentation explains the causes, pathophysiology and mechanics behind the development of cardiogenic shock as well as how to assess and treat these patients in the pre-hospital setting.

Children and adolescents complaining of chest pain is a commonly encountered problem. Although alarming to parents, chest pain in children usually is not caused by a serious disease, unlike adults, which raises a concern for myocardial ischemia. Pediatric chest pain can be classified broadly into cardiac or non-cardiac chest pain. Non-cardiac chest pain is, by far, the most common cause of chest pain in children and adolescents. This presentation will help the EMS professional properly assess and deferentially diagnose these types of patients.

Victims involved with fire as a mechanism can have a multitude of injuries that cause significant morbidity and mortality. Smoke inhalation can cause systemic toxicity from carbon monoxide (CO) and/or cyanide (CN) exposure. Both toxins can cause significant injury or death if unrecognized by clinicians. The purpose of this presentation is to review the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management of carbon monoxide and cyanide poisonings in the pre-hospital setting.

Thousands of venomous snake bite cases are reported every year in the United States. A bite from a venomous snake is rarely deadly, but it should always be treated as a medical emergency. Most of these types of bites produce an array of symptoms, including localized pain, swelling, convulsions, nausea and even paralysis. This presentation will describe the common types of snakes, the pathophysiology of their venom and what we as EMS providers need to do for these bitten patients.