CVA are amongst the top 5 causes of death, and number 1 cause of disability in N.A. Given the associated morbidity and mortality, rapid recognition and aggressive management is of the utmost importance.  The American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Stroke Association (ASA), characterizes stroke as a neurological deficit attributed to an acute focal injury of the central nervous system (CNS) by a vascular cause, including cerebral infarction, intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). For simplicity though, it can be umbrellaed into either ischemic or hemorrhagic in nature.  The early detection of stroke is paramount for patient care and positive outcomes. Obviously, this begins with the lay public and early activation of 911, but it’s important for paramedics to properly and accurately diagnose and transport to definitive care.  Join us as we chat with Dr. Grant Stotts to discuss all things in the prehospital world of stroke: What is a stroke? How do we diagnose it prehospitally? How should we be treating them? What happens once we get to the ED? 

Critical Levels

Stroke with Dr. Grant Stotts

Join us as we sit down with Critical Care Paramedic Natalie Lavergne with ORNGE - to discuss exactly that: critical care paramedicine and ORNGE, the Ontario air ambulance service. In this episode, we cover: What is a critical care paramedic and how are they different?  What type of training/continuing education do they receive?  What is ORNGE? What types of calls do they attend? How do they attend?  Optimizing the patient and scene for an ORNGE arrival  How is the patient physiology changed by air transport?  Scene calls vs. inter-facility transports. What do they do on route to prepare and what do they do once they’ve arrived? Differences between ORNGE and other critical care providers FAQs More information about Ornge at  https://www.ornge.ca/home

Critical Care Paramedicine and ORNGE with Natalie Lavergne

On June 8th 2021, The Honourable Mr. Justice H.S. Arrell gave his judgment finding 2 Hamilton paramedics, Christopher Marchant & Steven Snively, guilty of failing to provide the necessaries of life to Yosif Al-Hasnawi (19), who died on December 2 2017. In this episode, we chat with former paramedic and current lawyer Christopher Robertson, where we cover the background, the legal analysis, and what this precedent means to the profession.

The Hamilton Verdict | A Legal Analysis with Chris Robertson

Is it an accident or is it abuse? Tune in with Dr. Michelle Ward,  Division Head of Child and Youth Protection at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, as we discuss what paramedics need to know about child & youth maltreatment

Bruises, Breaks, and Burns: Child & Youth Maltreatment with Dr. Michelle Ward

Tune in with Jon Lee, formerly from the ORNGE Pediatric Critical Care Transport Team as he discusses his approach to the critically ill child

Managing the Critically Ill Paediatric Patient with Jon Lee

Continue our conversation with Dr. Drennan about cardiac arrest care. We've reached the end of our algorithms - what can we do next? 

The ABCs of Cardiac Arrest Management with Dr. Ian Drennan | Part 2

We claim to practice evidence-based medicine, but what does the evidence actually say about how we manage our cardiac arrests? Tune in to our discussion to find out

The ABCs of Cardiac Arrest Management with Dr. Ian Drennan

Tactical paramedicine, rescue task force, tourniquets, and massive life-threatening hemorrhage. Tune in to our conversation about these topics with Ben Jolicoeur of the Ottawa Paramedic Service Paramedic Tactical Unit 

Tactical Paramedicine with Benoit Jolicoeur

How do we make decisions? How does our bias impact patient care? Listen in to our conversation with Dr. Vanessa Bohn as we discuss cognitive errors, metacognition, and cognitive bias 

Cognitive Bias and Metacognition with Dr. Vanessa Bohn

Join us as we chat with Jason Buick, the lead author of the recent article published in the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine (CJEM) - COVID 19: What Paramedics Need to Know! 

COVID-19: What Paramedics Need to Know!

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Louis McNaughton-Filion, Regional Supervision Coroner for Eastern Ontario. We cover death investigations, what paramedics need to be aware of on suspicious scenes, and some of the pathophysiology/body changes after death.

We Speak For The Dead: Dr. Louise McNaughton-Filion

In part 2 of our conversation with Will Johnston about Calming the Chaos, we discuss the importance of a pre-brief, the zero-point survey, communication/language, graded assertiveness, debriefing, and working with our allied partners.     

Calming the Chaos with Will Johnston - Part 2

Listen to part 1 of our conversation with Will Johnston about Calming the Chaos. In this episode, we cover some of the physiological responses to stress and it's the impact on team performance as well as individual performance, as well as how to mitigate that response. We also covered what makes up highly competent teams. Tune in soon for part 2 to continue the chat :)

Calming the Chaos with Will Johnston - Part 1

Tune in as we chat with Dr. Vera Etches, Medical Officer of Health from Ottawa Public Health about coronavirus, how OPH is preparing, and how local healthcare partners are working together

Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) with Dr. Vera Etches from Ottawa Public Health

 Join Dr. Allan Shefrin, a pediatric emergency physician at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) discuss pediatric respiratory illnesses. Detailed show notes can be found on our website: www.criticallevels.ca

Pediatric Respiratory Illnesses with Dr. Allan Shefrin

Hosted by paramedic Zach Cantor, "Critical Levels" is a new podcast dedicated to having critical conversations in paramedicine. "Critical Levels" is a podcast for paramedics, by paramedics, with a Canadian and local bias. Please visit our website - http://www.criticallevels.ca - for more information Please email us at info@criticallevels.ca for any suggestions/feedback/comments Follow us on Twitter: @criticalevels

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Critical Levels

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