For Immediate Release

Friday, Nov. 16, 2018

Contact: Jordan Mayblum
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Armstrong Ambulance Clinical Team Publishes Response to Significant Industry Study

ARLINGTON — Armstrong Ambulance is pleased to announce that two members of its team recently had their work published in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services.

Armstrong’s Director of Clinical Integration Ben Podsiadlo, formerly of Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital, and Clinical Educator Steve Wood, Winchester Hospital, NP, initiated a response to JEMS in reference to a recent industry-specific study regarding intubation techniques and associated survival rates following cardiac arrest.

In their analysis of the Pragmatic Airway Resuscitation Trial (PART) study, the Armstrong team was critical of the primary standard set by the study — survival 72 hours following the onset of cardiac arrest. The PART study concluded that intubation via the King airway resulted in higher success rates under that standard.

Podsiadlo and Wood, however, argued that “the primary outcome of any cardiac arrest trial should be what everyone who suffers a cardiac arrest would want: discharge with good neurologic outcome. The marker of success should be walking out the doors and returning to the life you had before the cardiac arrest.”

In the PART study, only 6 percent of patients met Podsiadlo and Wood’s standard, prompting the Armstrong team to suggest that the study’s findings on the most desirable method of intubation was not nearly as conclusive as it suggested. They ultimately called for enhanced training and skills maintenance on resuscitation techniques.

“Ben and Steve’s response to this study are reflective of their commitment to upholding the highest possible professional standards,” Armstrong CEO Rich Raymond said. “By analyzing the study with such depth, it reflects their understanding of the most important goal we have as first responders, which is doing everything we can to ensure the best possible outcome for the patients we treat.”

To read the pair’s letter in full, click here.

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