title: Point-of-care ultrasonography during rescue operations on board a Polish Medical Air Rescue helicopter.
abstract: Point-of-care ultrasound examination has been increasingly widely used in pre-hospital care. The use of ultrasound in rescue medicine allows for a quick differential diagnosis, identification of the most important medical emergencies and immediate introduction of targeted treatment. Performing and interpreting a pre-hospital ultrasound examination can improve the accuracy of diagnosis and thus reduce mortality. The authors' own experiences are presented in this paper, which consist in using a portable, hand-held ultrasound apparatus during rescue operations on board a Polish Medical Air Rescue helicopter. The possibility of using an ultrasound apparatus during helicopter rescue service allows for a full professional evaluation of the patient's health condition and enables the patient to be brought to a center with the most appropriate facilities for their condition.
authors.affiliation: Polish Medical Air Rescue, Sanok, Poland ; Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Ward, John Paul II Cracow Specialist Hospital, Poland.
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Darocha
authors.affiliation: Polish Medical Air Rescue, Sanok, Poland ; Medical Rescue Department, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gałązkowski
authors.affiliation: Interventional Cardiology Research and Teaching Ward, John Paul II Cracow Specialist Hospital, Poland.
authors.forename: Dorota
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sobczyk
authors.affiliation: Polish Medical Air Rescue, Sanok, Poland.
authors.forename: Zbigniew
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Żyła
authors.affiliation: Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Ward, John Paul II Cracow Specialist Hospital, Poland.
authors.forename: Rafał
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Drwiła
keywords: emergency ultrasound; helicopter medical rescue service; rescue service