An emergency cart at the hospitals is a chest of drawers on wheels that stores lifesaving drugs and other equipment. These are usually required during a case of medical emergency. Below are the contents and uses of a crash cart. 

Emergency Cart

• You cannot deny the fact that during a medical emergency time is of great value. This is the reason why these crash carts are built. They are built in the way that they can be moved to the emergency site without any delay.
• These doctors and nurses have to be trained for the life support protocols before they are given this crash cart. It should be understood that the contents of this cart can differ from hospital to hospital. But, generally, a crash cart contains IV solutions, tubing, lifesaving medicines, breathing equipment, and other procedure trays.
• The emergency cart has 3 to 7 drawers as per the requirement of a hospital. You can also customize these emergency carts according to your needs. Small healthcare institutes such as testing laboratories and doctor’s clinics can buy some small emergency carts, but the hospitals, ITU and ICU unites along with the operations theatres, need some large emergency carts for storing their life-saving drugs and equipment. 

The Contents of Emergency Cart

• This is usually placed on top of the cart and is known as a defibrillator. This equipment gives out an electric shock of a certain voltage to the heart to restore the normal functioning during a cardiac arrest of a patient. Other things that are placed along with it include defibrillator pads, latex gloves, BVM masks, blue sheets, stethoscope, oxygen etc. A cardiac board is placed at the back.    

• The first drawer is usually meant for the ACLS or emergency of the first line, rapid sequence drugs like sodium bicarbonate, atropine, dopamine, epinephrine, vasopressin, amiodarone, naloxone, etc. 

• The IV solutions and pediatric medications are usually placed in the second drawer. 

• The third drawer consists of adult intubation materials like a syringe, Ambu bag, IV cannulas, endotracheal tubes, forceps, tracheostomy tubes, adhesive tapes, nasal cannulas, lubricant, laryngoscope, oral airways, suction catheters, pressure puffs, and much more.  

• The infant intubation materials are usually meant for the fourth drawers. Pediatric emergency drugs, oxygen masks, small endotracheal tubes, blood pressure cuffs, IV cannulas and nasal cannulas etc. are usually the contents of this drawer. 

• The fifth drawer is meant for the blood draw supplies and additional IV supplies. Catheters, syringes, butterfly syringes, tubes, and tapes are usually found inside this drawer. 

• The last drawer contains an emergency surgical kit and intravenous solutions. 

Advice for proper use of an emergency cart

• The crash carts have to be placed in a convenient area like treatment rooms or emergency rooms. 

• The inventory of the crash cart must be maintained properly and the list of the contents of each drawer must be printed and maintained by the nurses and para-medical kinds of stuff. 

• The inventory has to be checked on a weekly or monthly basis. The expired medications have to be removed and replaced properly.