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Articles of Interest
Suspension Trauma
What is Suspension Trauma? It is a particular hazard for people who work in safety harnesses. Having fallen from height if a person is suspended in a safety harness for more than a couple of minutes they may suffer suspension trauma. It can result in unconsciousness, followed by death in less than 30 minutes
Treating someone with suspension trauma is not standard First Aid. If you follow the normal advice for 'fainting' then you can easily kill your patient.
Anyone who has developed suspension trauma to any extent will have reduced blood flow to his or her brain. This initially causes symptoms of shock, and if untreated will lead to loss of consciousness. This in itself could kill by preventing the patient controlling their own airway, but eventually the reduced blood supply to the brain will lead to brain damage and death.
The goal of the rescuer is to return oxygen to the brain:
· Never allow the patient to lie down, even for an instant
· You should place them in a sitting position and summon an ambulance with great urgencyIf the person is conscious:
Place them in a sitting position with their body upright and their legs flat. The patient must not be allowed to: stand up, exercise, drink, eat or take medication.
The patient may deteriorate rapidly so try to keep them as calm and relaxed as you can, this also reduces the effects of stress on the heart rate.
If when the person is removed from suspension, kept them in the same sitting position at all times.
They may feel faint, so always stay with them and prevent them collapsing onto the floorRemember that everyone suspended for more than a few minutes should be sent to hospital for routine blood tests, even if they are not injured.
Your priority is maintaining their airway and arranging urgent rescue.
Loss of consciousness indicates that the pooled blood has had time to develop, and that laying the patient flat will probably be counterproductive - even leading to death.
You will have to manage the airway while keeping the patient in a sitting position. Suspension trauma rarely leads to cardiac or respiratory arrest in the short term, but if the patient requires CPR then this overrules the posture policy, and you must of course lay them flat. A patient who has been rendered unconscious by another event (such as impact in a fall or electrocution) and who is reached within the first 10 to 20 minutes of suspension may be allowed to lay flat.