By Casey Goodman
Tribune-Review (Greensburg, PA)
Copyright 2006 Tribune Review Publishing Company
Donors to the Ligonier Valley Ambulance Service have made it a pioneer in the use of a new medical device.
The department is one of the first in the eastern U.S. to purchase two EZ-IOs, handheld drill and needle sets that paramedics can use to inject fluids, medicines and blood into a patient’s tibia, or shin bone.
The device could be vital in saving the lives of patients whose veins have collapsed because of shock or dehydration, or who need immediate care during a heart attack or stroke.
Laurel Valley Ambulance Service personnel are using two EZ-IO drills. Each of the service’s advanced life-support units has one of the $500 devices.
The purchase was made possible through donations from the local community.
Dr. Larry Miller, of San Antonio, Texas, who has worked in hospital emergency rooms for 30 years, created the device in hopes of saving lives in times of trauma.
IO, short for intraosseous, refers to infusing fluid and drugs into bone marrow.
The battery-operated drill, distributed by VidaCare, of San Antonio, allows for rapid, secure and safe delivery of drugs and fluids when using traditional intravenous lines becomes impossible.
With the EZ-IO, paramedics no longer have to worry about time-consuming and often exasperating IV access or central lines. They can concentrate on other aspects of emergencies, such as airway management.
“This system is ideal for trauma patients who are in shock and finding an IV vein is very difficult,” said Rex Friedline, director of operations for Laurel Valley Ambulance Service.
Laurel Valley’s personnel were trained earlier this year by VidaCare representatives during a quarterly training session.
The device first was used on a patient whose heart had stopped.
“While assisting another ambulance, one of our paramedics arrived on the scene to find that the patient did not have an IV yet, so he used the EZ-IO and successfully obtained the IV almost immediately,” Friedline said.
The device was seen on an episode of “ER” this past season, according to James Blosser, a clinical specialist for VidaCare.
More information on Laurel Valley Ambulance Service or the EZ-IO drill is available by calling 724-235-9900.