Resuscitation
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Biography Historical Article
Jean-Henri Dunant. The founder of the Red Cross organisation.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The impact of manual defibrillation technique on no-flow time during simulated cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Rapid defibrillation is the most effective strategy for establishing return of spontaneous circulation following cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation. The aim of this study is to measure the delay due to of charging the defibrillator during chest compression in an attempt to reduce the duration of the pre-shock pause in between cessation of chest compressions and shock delivery as advocated by the American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines compared to charging the defibrillator immediately following rhythm analysis without resuming chest compressions as recommended by the European Resuscitation Council (ERC). ⋯ This study demonstrated clinically significant delays to defibrillation by analysing and charging the defibrillator without performing concurrent chest compressions. In a simulated scenario, charging the defibrillator whilst performing chest compressions was perceived as safe and significantly reduced the pre-shock pause between cessation of chest compression and shock delivery.
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Mortality among patients admitted to hospital after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is high. Based on recent scientific evidence with a main goal of improving survival, we introduced and implemented a standardised post resuscitation protocol focusing on vital organ function including therapeutic hypothermia, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), control of haemodynamics, blood glucose, ventilation and seizures. ⋯ Discharge rate from hospital, neurological outcome and 1-year survival improved after standardisation of post resuscitation care. Based on a multivariate logistic analysis, hospital treatment in the intervention period was the most important independent predictor of survival.
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Clinical Trial
CPR quality improvement during in-hospital cardiac arrest using a real-time audiovisual feedback system.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) quality during actual cardiac arrest has been found to be deficient in several recent investigations. We hypothesized that real-time feedback during CPR would improve the performance of chest compressions and ventilations during in-hospital cardiac arrest. ⋯ Real-time CPR-sensing and feedback technology modestly improved the quality of CPR during in-hospital cardiac arrest, and may serve as a useful adjunct for rescuers during resuscitation efforts. However, feedback specifics should be optimized for maximal benefit and additional studies will be required to assess whether gains in CPR quality translate to improvements in survival.
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Bradycardia may represent a serious emergency. The need for temporary and permanent pacing is unknown. ⋯ In our cohort, about 20% of the patients presenting with compromising bradycardia required temporary emergency pacing for initial stabilisation, in 50% permanent pacing had to be established.