Resuscitation
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The impact of the ILCOR 2005 CPR guidelines on a physical fitness assessment: a comparison of old and new protocols.
St. John Ambulance Australia has used the performance of CPR for 10 min as a fitness test for its members. Recent changes in international guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation caused concern that the new ILCOR protocol was more strenuous than the previous one. This study compared the two protocols to determine if there were significant differences and to allow an evidence-based decision on the continuation or modification of this practice. ⋯ The new protocol increases both objective and subjective measures of effort. While the absolute differences in workload are small, they are statistically significant. There are significant indicators of this difference in the first 3 min of assessment. Rescuers are more likely to be operating at a high-level of physical activity. To avoid increasing the demands of its mandatory fitness test, St. John should reduce the required performance time from its present 10 min.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A randomized controlled feasibility trial comparing safety and effectiveness of prehospital pacing versus conventional treatment: 'PrePACE'.
To evaluate the feasibility of a prehospital randomized controlled trial comparing transcutaneous pacing (TCP) with dopamine for unstable bradycardia. ⋯ It is feasible to conduct a prehospital randomized controlled trial of TCP for unstable bradycardia and a definitive trial would require a multi-centre study.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Disposable laryngeal tube suction--a randomized comparison of two insertion techniques performed by novice users in anaesthetised patients.
Laryngeal tubes are supraglottic airway devices that can be used in alternative to a tracheal tube to provide ventilation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The product line has recently been expanded by the disposable laryngeal tube suction (LTS-D). We tested the hypothesis that, with a modified insertion technique (MIT), the rate of correct placement attempts within 45 s could be significantly increased compared to the standard insertion technique (SIT) recommended by the manufacturer. ⋯ Applying a MIT significantly reduced the time for successful insertion of an LTS-D by first-time users. Insertion within 45 s was significantly more frequent with this technique. Further studies need to be conducted to determine if the LTS-D can be recommended as a first-line airway during cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Public access resuscitation program including defibrillator training for laypersons: a randomized trial to evaluate the impact of training course duration.
Time to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a main determinant of survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Only widespread implementation of training courses for laypersons can decrease response time. ⋯ A 2-h class is sufficient to acquire and retain CPR and AED skills for an extended time period provided that a brief re-evaluation is performed after 6 months.