HyperK+ and MCHD’s clinical protocol with Jordan Anderson
How do we recognize and treat hyperkalemia in the prehospital setting?
Hyperkalemia can send our patients to cardiac arrest in an instant.
In this episode of the MCHD Paramedic Podcast, our host, Casey Patrick, MD, FAEMS, assistant medical director for the Montgomery County Hospital District EMS, is joined by Jordan Anderson, BS, LP, CCP-C, CEO of North Texas Regional EMS and former MCHD clinical director.
They begin with some background physiology review on the importance of potassium to cellular function. Then they move on to describing specific patient characteristics and ECG findings found in patients with hyperkalemia and close with MCHD’s current protocol to preemptively treat these patients en route to the hospital.
Up next: “The advantage EMS has in diagnosing CO toxicity.” Toxicologist Jerry Snow, MD, joins our hosts to discuss the common symptoms and what leads to misdiagnosis in carbon monoxide poisoning