Medical Guide
(or "The First Aid Kit For RPG Members and Fanfiction Writers")

This is a quick-ish reference guide so that we can get our medicine pretty much straight when we do medical scenes and traumas.

Most of this information I have taken from the book "The Medicine Of ER" by Alan Duncan Ross and Harlan Gibbs, M.D. If you want the book, your best bet is to try and get it online, at amazon.com or some other bookstore. I don’t know how readily available it is anymore.

If there is anything you would like to know about in more detail, or anything else you think of that I haven’t, contact me at triggersaurus@yahoo.co.uk and I’ll add the information.

First things first - quick-fire spelling guide

· Thoracotomy - not thoracodomy

· Respiration - not resperation (you get the idea now)

· Conscious/consciousness

· Aneurysm

· Appendicitis

· Defibrillator

· Hemorrhage

· Hypertension

· Hypotension

· Hypothermia

· Intubate/intubation

· Peritoneal

· Physician

· Pneumothorax

· Tachycardia

· Ventricular

Any more you want me to add, just let me know. By the way, spell check probably won’t recognise a number of these, but I promise you they’re spelt right!

Down to the nitty-gritty

Vitals

-Pulse - normal heart rate (pulse) is about 70 beats per minute. A high pulse is considered to be 100 or over - this is tachycardia. A low pulse is less than 60 beats per minute - this is bradycardia. Note, however, that this applies to adults only, as infants and young children tend to have higher pulses, a 2-month year old can have a normal heartbeat of 130.

-Blood Pressure (BP) - This is complicated! Basically, the two numbers in blood pressure represent the pressure of the blood at two different moment - when the heart contracts and when the heart relaxes. A high BP is that where the top figure is over 140 and the lower is above 90, and the lower figure can go up to 130 to signify a major problem. This is hypertension. A low BP is when the top number is below 90, and this is typical in heart attack situations.

-Respiration (resps) - Normal breathing rate is about 14 breaths per minute. This goes up and down in trauma/accident etc situations, and is treated with oxygen.

Trauma-type things

-V-Fib and V-Tach - V-tach is where the heart starts beating at a very high rate in between 100-200 beats per minute. This often changes straight into V-Fib, where the heart is going insane, beating with no particular rhythm at all. CPR is performed at this point to provide a regular flow of blood and oxygen to the brain, and then it’s time to get the defibrillator out.

- Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) - This is a score of how the level of consciousness has been affected. The highest possible score is 15; anything below 8 is very bad.

- Crike - short for a long term that I won’t bore you with! This is where an incision is made directly into the throat so that the person can breathe if there is an obstruction preventing intubation.

- Central Line - tubing is inserted into a major artery to ensure the quick administration of medication in severe cases.

- Thoracotomy - used when the heart is bleeding out because it has a large hole in it, like from a stab wound. The chest is cracked open and sutures are sewn in the hole.

- Lavage/Peritoneal lavage - When internal injuries are suspected in the abdominal area, a small tube is inserted in and saline solution run through it and out again. If blood is seen in the removed saline, there are internal injuries.

- Cyanotic - not enough oxygen to the lungs, noticeable as patient goes blue around the lips and fingers.

Tests

CBC - Short for complete blood count, determines how much blood has been lost.

Type and cross-match - Discovering what blood type the patient has and what types of blood can then be given. 4 basic groups are O, A, B and AB.

PT - test for how well blood is clotting; if it is abnormal, blood will be lost quickly.

Lytes - looks at the basic chemicals in the body

Chem-7 - looks at the same as lytes but with 3 extra chemicals. This test establishes how you can be treated with IV fluids. Chem7 can show up sodium problems (leading to seizures), potassium problems (causing irregular heartbeats and weakness), dehydration and kidney function problems.

Blood gas - how much air the blood is carrying around the body. Hypoxia is when there are low oxygen levels in blood.

CAT / CT scan - X ray of the brain (or stomach) that shows up any blood in or around the brain.

EKG / ECG - the machine that measures heart waves; it’s the one that does all the beeping.

EEG - measures brain activity.

Pulse Ox - oxygen in the blood, normal is 95 or more, 90 is bad, below that is ominous. Measured with a clip type thing on the middle finger.

UA - urine analysis.

LFT’s - liver function tests.

WBC - White blood cell count, usually an indicator of the immune system. A high count would mean a serious infection (20,000+. Normal is about 7000)

BA / Blood alcohol level - I think that one speaks for itself…. Legal limit for BA is .08

Tox Screen - shows up the presence of drugs in the system.

Drugs

Atrophine - used to speed a heart rate up.

Dopamine - used to increase blood pressure and is administered via IV drip.

Saline - salt water

D5W - sugar water

Solumedrol - steroid used to open up blocked air passages

Albuterol - opens up blocked air passages

Epi - adrenaline, used to correct heart beat irregularities…used for pretty much most things.

Lidocaine - also used with heart irregularities

Nitroglycerin - expands the arteries around the heart so more oxygen can aid the muscle

Morphine - powerful painkiller

Lasix - removes fluids from the body, particularly for kidney damage patients

Motrin - anti-inflammatory drug

Novocaine - local anesthetic

Maalox - an antacid, for stomach pain

Donnatal - stop spasms, usually for stomach pain also

Haldol - used for altered mental status (AMS) patients

Compiled by the Triggersaurus - triggersaurus@yahoo.co.uk 2000