St. John's supports college students' research efforts

Recent medical research projects by local college students were bolstered by support from St. John's Health System.

In one collaborative project, Dustin Gammon, a St. John's emergency medical technician and student at Missouri State University, tested the effectiveness of 23 commonly used EMS prehospital medications after they have been exposed to thermal extremes outside the hospital setting. The study was funded by St. John's Trauma Services and Research Department and St. John's Emergency Medical Services. Gammon conducted the research for the project, which was overseen by MSU's chemistry department.

According to a news release, the study found that eight of the 23 medications demonstrated a significant decrease in concentration in a prehospital environment. The results provide new information and perspective regarding the stability of emergency drugs.

Drury University students, with the assistance of St. John's physician Roger Huckfeldt, also presented their findings about the efficacy of Mini-IPV, a miniature percussion ventilator, in critically injured patients to the American College of Surgeons.

Under physician supervision, students studied Mini-IPV use in a group of critically injured patients being treated in St. John's neuro-trauma intensive care unit.

Students found all 10 patients completed the four-hour ventilation trial without noted change in monitored parameters, concluding that the Mini-IPV, developed by Forrest Byrd, was safe and effective in this trial and should be studied further.