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Michael B. Heller, MD; Paul M. Paris, MD
University of Pittsburgh

Glenn M. Cannon
City of Pittsburgh Department of Emergency Medical Services

JAMA. 1986;255(5):610-611.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

We are quite concerned that the recent article by Smith and Bodai¹ might be ministerpreted by readers who are not familiar with the current status of prehospital care. Specifically, I fear that JAMA readers might erroneously consider this lively and timely article, appearing under the rubric "Concepts in Emergency and Critical Care," as a consensus statement or review of what is generally agreed upon within the specialty field of prehospital care. In fact, it is much more like a review of "controversies in prehospital care," with the authors offering highly controversial and minority opinions.

We concur with the authors' opinion concerning the importance of minimizing time on the scene in the care of the seriously traumatized patient. Carefully conducted studies must be done to determine the time necessary to begin preprepared intravenous (IV) setups during extrication or shortly after placing the patient in the ambulance.

Smith . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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