Resuscitation
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Prognostic significance of clinical seizures after cardiac arrest and target temperature management.
Clinical seizures are common after cardiac arrest and predictive of a poor neurological outcome. Seizures may be myoclonic, tonic-clonic or a combination of seizure types. This study reports the incidence and prognostic significance of clinical seizures in the target temperature management (TTM) after cardiac arrest trial. Our hypotheses were that seizures are associated with a poor prognosis and that the incidence of seizures is not affected by the target temperature. ⋯ Clinical seizures are common after cardiac arrest and indicate poor outcome with limited specificity. Prolonged seizures are a very grave sign but occasional patients may have a good outcome. The level of the target temperature does not affect the prevalence or prognostic significance of seizures.
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Improving survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a priority for modern emergency medical services (EMS) and prehospital research. Advanced life support (ALS) is now the standard of care in most EMS. In some EMS, prehospital critical care providers are also dispatched to attend OHCA. This systematic review presents the evidence for prehospital critical care for OHCA, when compared to standard ALS care. ⋯ Current evidence to support prehospital critical care for OHCA is limited by the logistic difficulties of undertaking high quality research in this area. Further research needs an appropriate sample size with adjustments for confounding factors in observational research design.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A pilot, prospective, randomized trial of video versus direct laryngoscopy for paramedic endotracheal intubation.
Prehospital intubation poses several unique challenges. Video assisted laryngoscopy has been shown to help increase intubation success in the hospital setting; however, little prospective data have examined video assisted laryngoscopy in traditional ground ambulance agencies. ⋯ In our study utilizing two ground EMS agencies, video assisted laryngoscopy with the KVL had similar first attempt success rates to direct laryngoscopy.
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We aim to summarize current evidence on the value of point-of-care (POC) focused echocardiography in the assessment of short-term survival in patients with cardiac arrest. ⋯ POC focused echocardiography can be used to identify reversible causes and predict short-term outcome in patients with cardiac arrest. In patients with a low pretest probability for ROSC, absence of SCM on echocardiography can predict a low likelihood of survival and guide the decision of resuscitation termination.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Techniques and outcomes of emergency airway management in Japan: An analysis of two multicentre prospective observational studies, 2010-2016.
Continuous surveillance of emergency airway management practice is imperative in improving quality of care and patient safety. We aimed to investigate the changes in the practice of emergency airway management and the related outcomes in the emergency departments (EDs) in Japan. ⋯ By using data from two large, multicentre, prospective registries, we characterised the current emergency airway management practice, and identified their changes in Japan. The data demonstrated significant increases in the rate of RSI and VL use on the first attempt and the first-attempt success rate over the 6-year study period.