Resuscitation
-
Review Meta Analysis
Mechanical chest compression for out of hospital cardiac arrest: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
This review of five trials investigating the efficacy of mechanical CPR devices (the LUCAS & AutoPulse) concluded that the devices demonstrate no outcome advantage compared with manual CPR, in terms of 30 day survival, survival to discharge, or neurological outcome.
summary -
Multicenter Study
Volume versus Outcome: More Emergency Medical Services Personnel On-scene and Increased Survival after Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest.
The large regional variation in survival after treatment of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is incompletely explained. Communities respond to OHCA with differing number of emergency medical services (EMS) personnel who respond to the scene. The effect of different numbers of EMS personnel on-scene upon outcomes is unclear. We sought to evaluate the association between number of EMS personnel on-scene and survival after OHCA. ⋯ More EMS personnel on-scene within 15 min of 9-1-1 call was associated with improved survival of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. It is unlikely that this finding was mediated solely by earlier CPR or earlier defibrillation.
-
Review
Evidence-based educational pathway for the integration of first aid training in school curricula.
"Calling for help, performing first aid and providing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)" is part of the educational goals in secondary schools in Belgium (Flanders). However, for teachers it is not always clear at what age children can be taught which aspects of first aid. In addition, it is not clear what constitutes "performing first aid" and we strongly advocate that the first aid curriculum is broader than CPR training alone. ⋯ An evidence-based educational pathway with educational goals concerning learning first aid for each age group was developed. This educational pathway can be used for the integration of first aid training in school curricula.
-
Review Meta Analysis
Cerebral oximetry and return of spontaneous circulation after cardiac arrest: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
The prediction of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) during resuscitation of patients suffering of cardiac arrest (CA) is particularly challenging. Regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) monitoring through near-infrared spectrometry is feasible during CA and could provide guidance during resuscitation. ⋯ Higher initial and average regional cerebral oxygen saturation values are both associated with greater chances of achieving ROSC in patients suffering of CA. A note of caution should be made in interpreting these results due to the small number of patients and the heterogeneity in study design: larger studies are needed to clinically validate cut-offs for guiding cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Peer education for BLS-training in schools? Results of a randomized-controlled, noninferiority trial.
The rate of bystanders who provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is low in Germany. To increase the bystander CPR rates of lay-rescuers in Germany, the national "einlebenretten" ("save one life") campaign was initiated, and the introduction of CPR-training for all seventh-grade students was recommended. To meet the requirement of offering effective and low-cost mass-training to lay-rescuers, we adopted peer education for the basic life support (BLS) training of the students. ⋯ The students who were trained by peer-instructors showed comparable skills in BLS to the students who were trained by professional instructors. The sample size was too small to demonstrate the noninferiority of the peer-led training.