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Introduction::During deployment following Hurricane Ike in September 2008, bites from domestic animals were among the top three trauma complaints seen at the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) base of operations.Problem::Unlike previous reports of frightened, misplaced dogs and cats biting strangers and rescue workers, there was an increase in bites associated with presumed non-rabid pets who were known to the bite victim.Methods:This was an observational sampling of all patients presenting for medical care during deployment to the AL-3 DMAT base of operations in Webster, Texas, following Hurricane Ike. Findings were compared with unofficial local norms and observations from the literature.Results:Of the people with animal bites presenting to the field hospital, dog bites accounted for 55%, cat bites, 40%, and snake bites, 5%. Most of the wounds required suturing and were not simple punctures. Most bites (70%) involved the hand(s). Some patients presented > 24 hours after the bite, and already had developed cellulitis. One patient required transfer and inpatient admission for intravenous antibiotics and debridement of a hand injury with spread into the metacarpophalangeal space.Conclusions:Most of the bites were severe and occurred within the first 72 hours after the hurricane, and waned steadily over the following weeks to baseline levels. No animal bites caused by misplaced dogs and cats biting strangers were seen. There was an increase in bites associated with domesticated pets known to the bite victim. The current NDMS cache is stocked adequately to care for most wounds caused by animal bites. However post-exposure rabies treatment is not part of the routine medications offered. For future disaster preparedness training, pet owners should be aware of the increased potential for dog and cat bites.

Objective:The impact of the use of mask continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on patients with acute respiratory distress in the prehospital, rural setting has not been defined. The goal was to test the use of CPAP using the Respironics® WhisperFlow® CPAP in patients presenting with acute respiratory distress. This was a collaborative evaluation of CPAP involving a rural EMS agency and the regional medical center. Patient outcomes including the overall rate of intubation-both in the field and in the emergency department (ED), and length of stay in the hospital and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) were tracked.Methods:The study was an eight-month, crossover, observational, non-blinded study.Results:During the four months of baseline data collection, 7.9% of patients presenting with respiratory distress were intubated within the first 48 hours of care. Their average ICU length of stay was 8.0 days. During the four months of data collection when CPAP was available in the prehospital setting, intubation was not required for any patients in the field or in the ED. Admissions to the ICU decreased. Those patients admitted to the ICU, the average ICU length of stay deceased to 4.3 days.Conclusions:The use of the CPAP in the prehospital setting is beneficial for patients in acute respiratory distress.

An ultraviolet detector was shown to be highly satisfactory for the selective determination of aromatic components in jet fuels. The detector was operated at 208 nm and used with a glass capillary column gas chromatographic system. The detector gave a linear response in the range of interest and could detect individual benzenes and naphthalenes in jet fuels at levels down to 0.1% and 0.02% respectively. a photoionization detector having a 9.5 ev source was found to be not sufficiently selective for aromatic hydrocarbons to be of value for fuel characterization. (Author)