Resuscitation
-
In-hospital cardiac arrest is one of the most stressful situations in modern medicine. Since 1997, there has been a uniform way of reporting - the Utstein guidelines for in-hospital cardiac arrest reporting. ⋯ The current study is the largest single-centre study of in hospital cardiac arrest reported according to the Utstein guidelines. We report a high survival for in-hospital cardiac arrest. We have pointed out that a functional chain of survival, short intervals before the start of CPR and defibrillation are probably contributing factors for this.
-
Case Reports
Complete neurological recovery following delayed initiation of hypothermia in a victim of warm water near-drowning.
Induced hypothermia has been demonstrated to improve outcome following cardiac arrest and is now widely endorsed. However, the optimal method of cooling and the identification of patients most likely to benefit from this therapy remains to be determined. We report a patient in whom there was a long delay in return of spontaneous circulation (at least 45 min) and the initiation of induced hypothermia (12 h) who made an almost complete neurological recovery following cardiac arrest from warm-water near-drowning.
-
Appropriate assessment and resuscitation is an important part of neonatal care provided during the first minutes of life. Midwifery and junior medical staff are often in the frontline of neonatal resuscitation. Appropriate education and training of midwifery staff is therefore essential if the standard of care delivered to babies in the delivery suite is to be improved and maintained. Evaluation of any such educational interventions is necessary to assess their effectiveness. ⋯ We have shown that the intervention has been related temporally to an improvement in the quality of care delivered by midwifery staff to newborn babies. Practical courses in neonatal resuscitation can contribute to improvements in the quality of care provided to babies immediately after birth. These courses are more effective than theoretical teaching alone.
-
Case Reports
Reconfirmation algorithms should be the standard of care in automated external defibrillators.
Non-sustained and self-terminating arrhythmias pose a significant challenge during resuscitation. Delivery of a defibrillation shock to a non-shockable rhythm has a poorly understood effect on the heart. ⋯ A case of spontaneous reversion of a non-sustained arrhythmia is presented. The implications of delivering a defibrillator shock to a non-shockable rhythm are discussed.
-
To determine etiology of pediatric OHCA in a population-based sample from autopsy and coroner's diagnosis. ⋯ The highest mortality rates were among children age <4 years. 52.6% of deaths were from 'unnatural' causes (accidental, suicide, homicide, undetermined). Our findings will be useful for planning prevention, treatment and future research of pediatric OHCA.