Backboards have been a central tool for Plano Fire-Rescue over the last 30 years. EMS workers use them to help lift patients off the ground, carry them to ambulances and keep them immobile during the trip to the hospital, reports dallasnews.com.
But now the department has become one of the first in Texas to adopt new guidelines on backboards that scale back their use, based on a joint statement from two national physicians’ organizations.
“Sometimes they may cause more harm than good,” said Dr. Mark Gamber, the department’s EMS medical director.
Beginning in late July, the department implemented a policy limiting backboard use to certain situations when a patient’s spine might need to be immobilized, such as blunt trauma or spinal pain. If a patient is walking around or doesn’t complain of back pain, he or she will be asked to lie still on a softer cot when being taken to the hospital.
A 2013 joint statement from the American College of Surgeons’ committee on trauma and the National Association of EMS Physicians made several recommendations for EMS workers after studies showed that backboards aren’t always needed.
“There is research that shows that most patients who have been on a board will have some pain in their back after the process,” NAEMSP president Ritu Sahni said in an email. “In addition, there is a risk for pressure ulcers after some time on the board. At this time, there is little evidence that proves a benefit for using the board.”
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