Remote Medikit, this any good?

Customloads

Customloads

Super Moderator
All good medical kits are put together by the medic that will be using it, we all have our favourites and the items we think are a waste of space/weight.

But having said that, we get asked for a basic pack of equipment that would sit along side the ubiquitous first aid kit to cover more serious eventualities. With this in mind I have put together an airway management kit, plus added in a low cost pulse ox, steth and shyg for medium term monitoring.

I had hoped to keep the price below 200/150 quid including a suitable bag, so I have not included chest seals or CATs. But would welcome your thoughts on that, I do kind of think they are essential in remote or hazardous situations.

It would be great to get some feedback on this and in return we will supply a finished kit to Mally for a forum prize.

The first draft kit includes:-

Bag large enough and suitable to adding to modular systems or rigs,
Fingertip Pulse Oxymeter,
Steth & Shyg,
Bag Valve Mask,
i-Gel size 5,
Adjustable Nasopharangeal Airway,
Trauma Shears,
Koolaks x2,
Large and Medium Dressings,
Wound Strips,
Saline Sachets and Tispet Sachets x6.
 
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think ya kind of answered your own question about chest seals and CATS . If i`m reading you right this would be an additional trauma bag to go along side your bog standard medical kit ? if thats the case Dump the steth & shyg ( must medics have them already ? ) dump the shears and not even sure about the pulse oxy is 100% needed as your prob not going to stay and play but bag and head for the hills...theres my 2 cents worth customload ...hope it helped ..interested to see what everyone else says ..cheers
 
I didn't see any manual suction...

Edit to add... the level of adaptability of your medic will reflect on your supplies required. I've seen many a medic do more with less.
 
paramortis said:
I didn't see any manual suction.

I've seen many a medic do more with less.
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I have to find an affordable manual suction, if anyone has a recommendation please offer it up! :)

And you are 100% right, less is more in the case of this particular kit.

An example of the kind of use it might be put to: A company operated a number of vehicles - 4x4s, boats and planes. They want a standard add-on to their first aid kit that their more experienced medically qualified staff can use in the event that their own bespoke kits are separated from them.
 
@customloads
you mention manual suction, if your looking to save cost at the same time look towards camping equipment or car parts. You know what your looking for, not me. But I know many an item that has become standard in medic kits came about by someone adapting something they found in an obscure place. Don't be afraid to try something different so long as its fit for purpose and sterile enough that you'd let it be used on yourself and you can easily teach others to use.

If you really want an example, a Bone saw used by a Surgeon started out as a Carpenters Tennon saw, a torniquet started out as belt for battlefield amputations, and lancing/ courterising was done with a branding iron, plaster casts used to be made from clay baked dry in the sun (still used by remote tribes today).
 
Dgrant said:
think ya kind of answered your own question about chest seals and CATS . If i`m reading you right this would be an additional trauma bag to go along side your bog standard medical kit ? if thats the case Dump the steth & shyg ( must medics have them already ? ) dump the shears and not even sure about the pulse oxy is 100% needed as your prob not going to stay and play but bag and head for the hills...theres my 2 cents worth customload ...hope it helped ..interested to see what everyone else says ..cheers
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Would have thought a CAT and an Israeli bandage would be the bare minimum carried by individuals themselves so not really necessary in a Medic Pack?

Edited to add; I'm not a medic by the way
 
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kilkenny said:
Size 5 igel OK, but this is for above 90kg, think about the 60-90kg weight bracket also, size 4 is essential,
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Completely agree, a size 4 rather than a size 5 i-Gel. Very few people who weigh more than 90kg have a larynx to match - most are either very muscular or fat, and that doesn't affect fit.
 
Under £200 is the biggest challenge here based on a basic trauma pack using ABCs as standard I will be entrigued to see the final result on this one. I tend to look at the cost as a necessary evil, makes the bitter pill easier to swallow so to speak.

This is my basic list:

OPA 3&4
NPA 6mm & 7 mm
Pocket mask
Suction Easy
6 in Emergency Care Bandage x 2
4 in Emergency Care Bandage x 1
Gauze Pads 10 x 10cm pack of 5 x 4
CAT at least 1
Quickclot Combat Gauze at least 1
SAM Splint Flat at least 1
2 in crepe x 3 ( preferably coflex as they self adhere)
Kling Wrap ( can be used for burns, wounds, open chest injuries etc to etc a full roll can be cut in half to reduce size and weight)
2 in gaffer tape ( heavy duty preferably silver/tan so you can write on it)
1 in transpore or micropore tape at least 1 roll
Sharpie pen (stuff has to be written down and these bad boys do the job, skin, tape, clothing write anywhere)

This is by no means definitive and not at all heavy for the 'humping of kit' basis but would be my bare minimum covering ABCs and a wee bit more.

Reckon with a bit of shopping around this would come in at around £250 ish.

Hope it helps.

If you think medical is expensive try ignorance!
 
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Med1c999 said:
This is my basic list...

...Kling Wrap ( can be used for burns, wounds, open chest injuries etc to etc a full roll can be cut in half to reduce size and weight)...
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I'm a huge fan of kling wrap or clingfilm as resource in your kit, especially in remote environments, but it is not without it's drawbacks.

This is a recent article I wrote on the subject (I have no life;-))

The gist of the article is that I have now moved from carrying clingfilm to 'Stretch Wrap' which is what is used to wrap pallets and large goods. It is slightly thicker and more durable, remains pliable at lower temps unlike clingfilm and doesn't deteriotate at the bottom of your bag eaving you searching for hours to fin 'the end' but the main reason is that "Mini" stretch wrap is available as a 4" roll which is easier to stow. I have tried cutting a 12" roll in half but I find that melds the cut end together making unwrapping tricky (especially with gloved hands!)

Make sure you look for Mini Stretch Wrap or you might end up with a 60kg drum of it! :-)

stretch%20wrap.jpg
 
50ml tonsil tip syrince ( cut tip down to widen ) and length of suction tubing - shouldnt cost more than a few quid
 
Some other kit: So if I get this correct, this is just a first grab bag, next to a regular med bag, or is this a go-bag?

This is from NARP (so some additional goodies) a lot of previous post have great kit.

Tactical Rapid Deployment Kit (just a wee bit over 200 quid) if you wanted most in one bang.

Tactical Suction Device (this is what I carry, works great and folds up small)

King LT-D
I would actually choose a King LTD over the I-Gel (the King at least helps to protect the airway more), but still neither are definitive airways. So I would rather have my ET tubes and goodies or my trusty cric kit.

I just carry a small cric kit on me, (if I need a definitive airway) with a one way valve that I can use until a BVM gets opened up.

Cyclone New & Improved Pocket BVM (this BVM comes in a small plastic round case, not shown (does not take up a lot of room) we use these too.

You can always use water, from bottles, purified from streams etc for irrigation.

No reason for a Sphy, stethoscope questionable, especially if it is in your other bag.
 
Great tips! I have had problems with the bulb suction type devices mentioned above. Many friends have also echoed the same problems:
The diameter of the tube is very small, allowing for easy clogging
The force of suction is pretty poor

Having said this, our larger airway kits carry a AmbuRescue Pump Ambu Rescue Pump | www.chinookmed.com
Just on the "too big side" but actually an effective suction device with cheap replaceable canisters for diff patients.

I especially like adding the NPA on the end of the irrigation syringe.

As for the BVMs we had had very good luck with Bag Valve Mask (TMM-BVM) | www.chinookmed.com the TMM-BVM. Very light, small and easy to use.

Now that tiny ventilator....WOW! That is pretty bad ass! Have you used it? How does it work? Very pricey!
 
AdventureDoc, I have used it multiple times in my aircraft and clinic, works great in confined/remote/tactical areas (it has all preset numbers though, Vt, BPM, Pplateau, no PEEP, I:E set). It was originally designed for SOCCOM, it has several on/off settings (alarms and lights on, alarms and lights off, alarm silence, lights on etc) they went up in price this year, they were around $2800 delivered previously, we have 6 of them as spare vents, our primary vents are Eagle Vents. I have used them in arrest situations and Casevac situations. I do not suggest this though as a permanent vent, especially for head injury patients, you can't control anything since it has set rates/volumes etc (and can do more harm then good). It last around 6 hours on a charged battery, supplemental 02 can be added to a side port to increase the FiO2, has a side air filter and works off room air (you change the filter and tubing after each patient). It is a great bit of kit, for its size and what it was originally made for, you can also use the face mask, with a CPAP like adapter as a positive pressure device during CPR, or possibly even use it as BiPAP, but you really can't control anything on it, I haven't tried it like that, but it might work.
 
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Just be aware that altyhough a good piece of kit for airway management in an operating theatre or where a casualty is not being moved, The I-Gel is easilly dislodged when moving a casualty and the person maintaining airway management can easilly fall into a false sense of security by thinking that the I-gel is correctly placed.

I have seen ET Tubes dislodged when moving casualties and these have been "Secured" before moving. so be aware of this with the I-Gel

as has been said, a cheap buck shee 60ml syringe with a soft catheter of green oxygen buble tubing fitted is often far more effective than a hand held aspirator. after all with these hand held devices you actually need three hands to use them effrectively. 1 to hold and use the triger mechanism. 1 to open the mouth and 1 to guide the end of the cathater in the mouth to the fluid you require to aspirate.

some simple and basic cleaning material be it alco whipes, water wipes etc for cleaning small cuts and grazes which are the ones that end up becoming the nasty infected wounds would be usefull.

I also prefer x-L food bags for burns etc as these are usually cleaner than clingfilm and do not act as a torniquet when the limb swells unlike clink film.

just a few thoughts.
 
Phecta said:
I also prefer x-L food bags for burns etc as these are usually cleaner than clingfilm and do not act as a torniquet when the limb swells unlike clink film.
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Sounds good. We use the small rolls of wrap but never go around any part of the patient, always along in strips overlapping as needed.
 
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