Ed, your synopsis could not be more prophetic or correct. A relatively small, local attack with a chemical weapon could easily overwhelm the system. You & I both know the difficulties of decontaminating even a small number of chemical casualties, and of obtaining the necessary antidotes/reversal agents like pralidoxime...in the event of nerve agent like sarin. We are surely not ready for a nuclear attack in the (more likely) form of a dirty bomb, or another major pandemic. This, on top of having to deal with the usual medical and traumatic emergencies like MIs, strokes, sepsis, MVAs. over-doses, etc. Great article!
Thanks Jon! I often sit in our busy ED, trying to find a bed to transfer a septic kidney stone patient, or a complex fracture and think, 'what if it was far worse?' We barely have ambulances to transfer complex trauma. I used to work with our local nuclear power plant and did yearly drills, and frequent FEMA drills. Doing it well on one patient alone was time, labor and material expensive. I suppose in a big event, you just wash and wash (as long as you have water by the way) and hope for the best. Most places don't have radiation detection equipment or have staff trained in its use. And forget chemicals. It would be purely clinical diagnosis and if it's sarin, there goes all of your atropine. (Although we were told that sarin and the other weapons require less than similar industrial chemicals...but that may have been a lie to reassure us.) Anyway, I appreciate the comment. And that podcast is a very good one, by the way.
Ed, your synopsis could not be more prophetic or correct. A relatively small, local attack with a chemical weapon could easily overwhelm the system. You & I both know the difficulties of decontaminating even a small number of chemical casualties, and of obtaining the necessary antidotes/reversal agents like pralidoxime...in the event of nerve agent like sarin. We are surely not ready for a nuclear attack in the (more likely) form of a dirty bomb, or another major pandemic. This, on top of having to deal with the usual medical and traumatic emergencies like MIs, strokes, sepsis, MVAs. over-doses, etc. Great article!
I was allowed onto the chem/bio class as a contractor. Very cool.
Indeed it did!
Thanks Jon! I often sit in our busy ED, trying to find a bed to transfer a septic kidney stone patient, or a complex fracture and think, 'what if it was far worse?' We barely have ambulances to transfer complex trauma. I used to work with our local nuclear power plant and did yearly drills, and frequent FEMA drills. Doing it well on one patient alone was time, labor and material expensive. I suppose in a big event, you just wash and wash (as long as you have water by the way) and hope for the best. Most places don't have radiation detection equipment or have staff trained in its use. And forget chemicals. It would be purely clinical diagnosis and if it's sarin, there goes all of your atropine. (Although we were told that sarin and the other weapons require less than similar industrial chemicals...but that may have been a lie to reassure us.) Anyway, I appreciate the comment. And that podcast is a very good one, by the way.
Did that info on sarin come from Dr. Seidel?