The American journal of emergency medicine
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High quality chest compressions are essential for survival and good neurological outcome in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Dispatcher- assisted CPR (DA-CPR) has led to increased survival in OHCA. Recently, additional verbal motivation has shown positive effects on CPR quality. The present randomized and controlled simulation trial investigates the effect of different intervals of verbal motivation during DA-CPR. ⋯ Verbal encouragement every 30 or 60 s combined with a metronome beat led to a significant augmentation of chest compression depth compared to standard DA-CPR.
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Procalcitonin is a useful biomarker for infection. Over the past two decades, there has been much research on the clinical applications of procalcitonin, yet the majority of these studies have been conducted in the intensive care setting. Despite the extensive use of procalcitonin in emergency departments, there have been no guidelines focusing specifically on these clinical settings. ⋯ Recommendations will be formulated based on explicit consideration of established criteria. This structured approach ensures that guideline recommendations are founded on robust evidence and transparently assessed for strength and potential caveats. This is the first guideline on the use of procalcitonin to be applied in emergency departments that adopts the principles of evidence-based medicine and encompasses the up-to-date literatures, and it marks an advancement in providing guidance on the utilization of procalcitonin in emergency departments.