Resuscitation
-
Comparative Study
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in patients aged 35 years and under: a 4-year study of frequency and survival in London.
The aim of this study was to describe the frequency and characteristics of cardiac arrest patients of 35 years and under attended by the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust between April 2003 and March 2007. Few large studies have described the occurrence, mechanism, resuscitation viability and outcome of this substantial subset of the cardiac arrest population. By documenting over 3000 cardiac arrests in young people we sought to improve understanding, awareness and ultimately survival of a condition notorious for high mortality rates. ⋯ Mortality in young cardiac arrest patients remains high. Focus should be placed on tackling social and psychological causes of cardiac arrest as well as cardiac aetiologies.
-
There is mismatch in age between those usually trained in CPR and those witnessing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest with mean age reported at 30 and 65 years old, respectively. Two tier mass CPR self-training with manikin-DVD sets using school children has been reported. We have studied high school students as first tier and encouraged them to train older people. ⋯ People trained at home with a manikin-DVD set and high school students as facilitators were able to perform CPR as recommended by ERC guidelines with a reasonable percentage aged 50 or older.
-
Comparative Study
The impact of Rapid Response System on delayed emergency team activation patient characteristics and outcomes--a follow-up study.
To evaluate the impact of Rapid Response System (RRS) maturation on delayed Medical Emergency Team (MET) activation and patient characteristics and outcomes. ⋯ Maturation of a RRS is associated with a decrease in the incidence of unplanned ICU admissions and MET activation delay. Assessment of a RRS early in the course of its implementation may underestimate its efficacy.
-
Naloxone's use in cardiac arrest has been of recent interest, stimulated by conflicting results in both human case reports and animal studies demonstrating antiarrhythmic and positive ionotropic effects. We hypothesized that naloxone administration during cardiac arrest, in suspected opioid overdosed patients, is associated with a change in cardiac rhythm. ⋯ Although we cannot support the routine use of naloxone during cardiac arrest, we recommend its administration with any suspicion of opioid use. Due to low rates of return of spontaneous circulation and survival during cardiac arrest, any potential intervention leading to rhythm improvement is a reasonable treatment modality.
-
Acute lung injury (ALI) develops in various clinical situations and is associated with high morbidity and mortality and therapeutic hypothermia (HT) has been studied to attenuate the ALI. However, the optimal method of rewarming has not been determined. We determined the effect of speed of rewarming and the administration of anti-inflammatory or anti-oxidant agents on ALI in an intestinal ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) model treated with HT. ⋯ Gradual rewarming and administration of dexamethasone improved survival and attenuated ALI after intestinal I/R injury treated with HT in rats.