Current spinal board usage in emergency departments across the UK.
The spinal board is widely used as a means of extrication and efficient transport during the pre-hospital phase of trauma management. A number of concerns have been raised regarding its subsequent usage once the patient arrives in the emergency department. We undertook a telephone study of 100 A+E departments in the United Kingdom to ascertain current spinal board usage. Our study demonstrated great variability in practice across the UK and a marked lack of on-going audit or defined protocols governing spinal board usage following the pre-hospital phase of trauma management.
Malik
M H A
MH
Department of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, North Manchester General Hospital, 9 Woodacre, Whalley Range, UK. hammymalik@hotmail.com
Lovell
M E
ME
D000552:Ambulances; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000379:methods; D004869:Equipment Safety / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D014187:Transportation of Patients / Q000379:methods*; D006113:United Kingdom