Resuscitation
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The incidence of human errors in the field of medicine is high. Two strategies to increase patient safety are simulator training and crew resource management (CRM) seminars, psychological courses on human performance and error management. ⋯ We established the first course curriculum combining psychological teaching with simulator training for healthcare professionals in emergency medicine. Similar concepts using the six-step approach can be applied to other medical specialties.
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To compare the attitudes of the public attending at a local Emergency Department and the medical staff towards witnessed resuscitation. ⋯ Locally, we find a discrepancy between healthcare workers and the public towards the concept of witnessed resuscitation. More research is needed on the attitudes of the Asian public and medical staff.
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No single drug improves survival after cardiac arrest, despite success in animal studies. We sought to determine the duration of circulatory arrest after which maximal drug treatment and a rescue shock would fail to achieve return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). ⋯ Pre-shock delivery of CPR+DC increases the likelihood of ROSC, and reaches 50% with a time of drug delivery of 14.1 min. ROSC rates of 50% may be achievable using an optimized resuscitation in experimental CPR.
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To evaluate the effectiveness, the safety, and the practicability of the new automated load-distributing band resuscitation device AutoPulse in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the midsized urban emergency service of Bonn city. ⋯ The AutoPulse system is an effective and safe mechanical CPR device useful in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest CPR. Automated CPR devices may play an increasingly important role in CPR in the future because they assure continuous chest compressions of a constant quality.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Comparison of hands-off time during CPR with manual and semi-automatic defibrillation in a manikin model.
Rhythm analysis with current semi-automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) requires mandatory interruptions of chest compressions that may compromise the outcome after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). We hypothesised that interruptions would be shorter when the defibrillator was operated in manual mode by trained and certified ambulance personnel. ⋯ Paramedics performed CPR with less hands-off time before and after shocks on a manikin with manual compared to semi-automatic defibrillation following the 2000 Guidelines. However, 12% of the shocks given manually were inappropriate.