This is the first of a new series of Roadside to Resus podcasts. We've been joined by James Yates, a Critical Care Paramedic with the Great Western Air Ambulance to make it a truly multidisciplinary team.

Each monthly episode we'll be discussing acute presentations, including the latest and most influential evidence base surrounding them. We really want  to break down some barriers between pre-hospital and in hospital teams and it soon becomes evident in this first podcast that many of the problems we face are shared throughout the patient journey and across disciplines!

We're starting off with Acute Heart Failure and in the podcast we run through;

• The underlying physiology and help explain the different problems we may find in each subset
• The keys to diagnosis, including the most predictive parts of history and examination
• We discuss the evidence base for treatment and the trends of use both pre and in-hospital
• We talk about CPAP and whether the evidence supports it's use
• Finally, the direction that further treatment in the UK may move

Once again we hope you find the podcast useful. Get in touch with any comments, questions or suggestions for further topics. Most of all don't take our word for it, but make sure you delve into the references yourself and make up your own mind.

Enjoy!

C-spine immobilisation is a controversial topic because of a lack of high quality evidence from clinical trials. Historical approaches have been challenged, however NICE guidance continues to recommend 3-point immobilisation for all patients with suspected spinal injury despite considerable clinical equipoise.

We're back with 3 superb topics this month!

First off we have a look at the utility of ultrasound for the detection of pneumothoraces in the context of blunt trauma.

Next we look at the need to scan facial bones when scanning a patient's head following trauma.

Last of all we look at a paper reviewing the association between the use of a bougie and the first pass success when performing ED RSI.

Have a listen to the podcast and most importantly make sure you have a look at the references and critically appraise the papers yourself. We'd love to hear your thoughts and comments at the bottom of the page.

Enjoy!