How timely intervention can play a vital role in saving precious lives

Medical emergencies can occur anytime and anywhere. A few minutes can prove to be the difference between life and death. The 'Golden Hour' is usually the most vital period to save the life of a patient. 

So, it becomes very important to make medical facilities available to ensure timely treatment. Medical emergencies like heart attack or cerebral stroke require quick action to save cardiac muscle or brain tissue. So, attending to a patient within the ‘golden hour’ is crucial.  

"There is a golden hour between life and death. Golden hour implementation all across the nation may prove to be a vital option to save many lives in a case of accident or emergency," says Dr Sajid Nomani, Head of the Dept of Emergency at AMRI Hospitals, Bhubaneswar. 

With increasing number of road accidents, the current situation is alarming. More than 400 people die every day in India due to road accidents. Serious accidents happen each hour on Indian roads, killing 16 people almost every 60 minutes. 

Most of the accidents result in head injuries, varying from curable to fatal. Head injuries are  also one of the most common emergencies in trauma scenario. The difference between life and death is the time bound medical care. Under the leadership of Dr Nomani, AMRI Hospitals Bhubaneswar, one of the leading hospitals in Eastern India, is ensuring the best possible management of trauma victims in accordance with internationally approved advanced trauma life support protocols.

The main objective of this management is to prevent secondary brain injury and prioritize surgical decompression. Airway management, spinal immobilization, correction of blood loss and prevention of secondary brain injury together constitute AMRI’s approach towards treating such patients. 

Adequate primary support is required to avoid morbidity on subsequent mortality. "Trained paramedics arrive at the accident spot and initiate efforst to salvage the victim by ensuring strict spinal immobilization, proper oxygenation, keeping blood pressure stable and other primary support activities. Patients are then transported to the trauma bay of the hospital, where they are entrusted to the care of the trauma management team, led by an ER consultat,” says Dr Nomani.

“The team then focuses on the comprehensive resuscitation of the victim, the key focus of the overall process being identification of life-threatening injuries and minimization of the time between the accident and the resuscitation of the patient,” he adds.

“The chances of patient survival depends on how fast medical assistance is provided in the event of trauma. A minimized time lag enhances the chances of stabilization and eventual recovery,” Dr Nomani concludes.