A few weeks ago we were called out to a family house where a young female patient had collapsed on the floor in the kitchen.
Upon arrival we were told by the patient, who had now regained consciousness, that she could not feel anything from her mid chest down to the rest of her body. Suspecting a spinal injury, we stabilised her and transported her to the closest hospital.
During the transport phase, we asked her a few pertinent questions, which has been aptly named SAMPLE:
S – Signs and symptoms
A – Allergies (Current or suspected)
M – Any pre-existing medical conditions
P – Any past medical history (operations, etc)
L – Last oral intake (when last something was consumed)
E – Events leading up to the incident
Asking these questions gives us medics a greater understanding of what we are dealing with when we are working with a patient.
In this case we got more then what we expected. She notified the medics that she had been suffering from a headache, a fever and a pain in the back of her neck for the past week, all signs and symptoms of bacterial meningitis.
Asking the SAMPLE history of the patient allowed us to make a quick diagnosis, as well as informing the medical institution that we transported her to, to prepare for a case of suspected meningitis and to initiate quarantine protocols. The doctor preliminarily confirmed our diagnosis pending a spinal tap and blood tests, and we were told to take precautions, which we did. Our patient was admitted under isolation protocol until the results and treatment plans could be established.
I am happy to report that the patient did in fact not have bacterial meningitis, but rather viral encephalitis, which she speedily recovered from and is currently back to being her normal, albeit more cautious, happy self.
Asking the questions that we need to ask can sometimes mean the difference between missing something and providing lifesaving care when it is needed. The SAMPLE system can also be employed when reporting an incident too. Telling the medical team what has happened and maybe adding in the few things of SAMPLE can aid us quite a bit.
So until next time….. Stay safe….
