The use of traction splints in the Emergency Medical Teams in Poland

Abstract

The aim: Traction splints are part of the procedure recommended in the femoral shaft fractures and in many countries they are equipped with ambulances. The aim was to determine the availability of traction splints in the emergency medical teams in Poland. Material and methods: The survey was conducted using a survey method, obtaining answers from 29% of administrators of emergency medical teams in Poland, representing 36% of all emergency medical teams. Results: Traction splints are found only in 11% of examined emergency medical teams in Poland, more often in specialized teams (17%) than basic ones (less than 10%). There has been wide variation between models of traction splints. Only in two cases organized cooperation between emergency departments and emergency medical teams was found in the matter of replacing traction splints in the piece-by-piece mode. Conclusions: There is low availability of traction splints at the pre-hospital stage in Poland. There is no organized cooperation between emergency departments and emergency medical teams in the matter of replacing the traction splints with the use of the piece-for-piece method.