Resuscitation
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Pulseless electrical activity is an important cause of cardiac arrest. Our purpose was to determine if induction of hypothermia with a cold perfluorocarbon-based total liquid ventilation (TLV) system would improve resuscitation success in a swine model of asphyxial cardiac arrest/PEA. ⋯ Induction of moderate hypothermia using perfluorocarbon-based total liquid ventilation did not improve ROSC success in this model of asphyxial cardiac arrest.
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Critical incident reports can identify areas for improvement in resuscitation practice. The Danish Patient Safety Database is a mandatory reporting system and receives critical incident reports submitted by hospital personnel. The aim of this study is to identify, analyse and categorize critical incidents related to cardiac arrests reported to the Danish Patient Safety Database. ⋯ Critical incidents related to cardiac arrest occur due to logistical, technical, teamworking and knowledge problems. These findings should be considered when planning education and implementing resuscitation practice.
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Endotracheal intubation (ETI) is considered to be the gold standard of prehospital airway management. However, ETI requires substantial technical skills and ongoing experience. Because failed prehospital ETI is common and associated with a higher mortality, reliable airway devices are needed to be used by rescuers less experienced in ETI. We prospectively evaluated the feasibility of laryngeal tubes used by paramedics and emergency physicians for out-of-hospital airway management. ⋯ The LT-D/LTS-D represents a reliable tool for prehospital airway management in the hands of both paramedics and emergency physicians. It can be used as an initial tool to secure the airway until ETI is prepared, as a definitive airway by rescuers less experienced with ETI or as a rescue device when ETI has failed.
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This study aims to know if the level of S100B protein at the initiation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and immediately after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) can predict clinical outcome. ⋯ Higher levels of S100B at start of CPR were significantly associated with lower survival to admission, and not for 1-month survival.