[Life-threatening emergencies at the office: implications for medical education and equipment of the primary care physician].
Every medical practitioner is confronted on a daily basis with emergencies. Among these, life-threatening emergencies can have disastrous consequences in term of morbidity and mortality; 22 cardiac arrests and 10 deaths were reported among the 1,650 Swiss practices during a 5 year period. The occurrence of life-threatening emergencies at the office necessitates, according to the type and place of the practice, the skills of the practitioner and the organization of his practice, the implementation of procedures, equipments (for example room equipped with a defibrillator, respiratory nebulizer, splints, emergency drugs) and specific continuous education programs that should be encouraged and made available to the whole medical corporation.
Potin
Mathieu
M
Unité des mesures sanitaires d'urgence, Service de la santé publique, Lausanne. mathieu.potin@chuv.ch
Pittet
Valérie
V
Staeger
Philippe
P
Vallotton
Laurent
L
Burnand
Bernard
B
Yersin
Bertrand
B
D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000193:education* / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004638:Emergency Treatment; D006801:Humans; D010824:Physicians' Offices; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000193:education*