Best Practice Case Studies-Case 141 Asset 5 The Collapsed Athlete

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The lecture introduced the AMSSM National Fellows Online Lecture Series and focused on sideline emergencies, especially the collapsed athlete. Dr. Will Dinh emphasized that sideline care is “triage plus”: the clinician must quickly decide whether an athlete is sick, not sick, or possibly sick, while considering available resources, the event’s emergency action plan (EAP), and the level of EMS support.<br /><br />The central message was to expect the unexpected and practice the EAP through drills. For a collapsed athlete, scene safety comes first, followed by a rapid CAB assessment. If the athlete is pulseless and apneic, this is treated as witnessed cardiac arrest: start high-quality CPR immediately, activate EMS, and use an AED as soon as possible. Dinh stressed closed-loop communication, pulse checks at the carotid, and switching compressors every two minutes to avoid fatigue.<br /><br />The lecture then reviewed other sideline emergencies that can be managed quickly: neurologic, respiratory, traumatic, and environmental crises. Topics included airway support, seizure management, spinal precautions, anaphylaxis, status asthmaticus, arterial bleeding with tourniquets, tension pneumothorax decompression, blunt abdominal trauma, hyperthermia, and lightning strike triage. He also discussed practical sideline tools such as airway adjuncts, epinephrine, tourniquets, and decompression needles.<br /><br />Key pearls included minimizing interruptions in compressions, using appropriate EMS coordination, and understanding that some emerging practices remain context-dependent. The talk concluded with CAQ-style questions on communication plans, heat stroke recognition and cooling, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy as a common cause of sudden death in young athletes.

Meta Tag

Edition 4th Edition

Related Case 4th Edition, Case 141

Topic Metabolic

Keywords

4th Edition

4th Edition, Case 141

Metabolic

AMSSM

sideline emergencies

collapsed athlete

emergency action plan

witnessed cardiac arrest

high-quality CPR

AED

closed-loop communication

anaphylaxis

hyperthermia

hypertrophic cardiomyopathy