Resuscitation
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Editorial Comment
Continuous chest compression CPR preferred for primary cardiac arrest.
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Avalanche resuscitation will save lives if focussed on victims that have the potential to survive. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine 4 critical prognostic factors for burial victims in cardiac arrest. ⋯ After 35 min of burial, or where the core temperature is less than 32 degrees C, a patent airway is associated with survival to hospital discharge. A serum potassium of less than 7 mmol/L may be a valuable indicator for survival when other indicators are unclear. These findings should modify the current avalanche resuscitation scheme.
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Comparative Study
A comprehensive investigation of cardiac arrest before and after arrival of emergency medical services.
Many of the factors that affect survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are not relevant in patients who arrest after arrival of emergency medical services (EMS). Because all arrests that occur after arrival of EMS are witnessed and care is immediate, one might expect survival to be very high. Several studies have described communities' experiences of arrest after arrival but few have compared survival rates stratified by rhythm and witness status. The purpose of this paper was to describe the characteristics of patients who arrested after arrival of EMS and to compare survival in this population to those who had witnessed and unwitnessed arrests before EMS arrival. ⋯ Patients whose arrests were witnessed by EMS were more likely to have survived their cardiac arrests than those who arrested before EMS arrived. We suggest that survival rates from VF arrests that occur after EMS arrival should be widely reported in order to measure overall EMS performance since many factors such as response times, bystander actions, and witness status are equalized in this subset of patients.
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Comparative Study
Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) attenuates post-resuscitation myocardial microcirculatory dysfunction.
Post-resuscitation syndrome leads to death in approximately 2 out of every 3 successfully resuscitated victims, and myocardial microcirculatory dysfunction is a major component of this syndrome. The aim of this study was to determine if glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) improves post-resuscitation myocardial microcirculatory function. ⋯ In this swine model of prolonged VF followed by successful resuscitation, myocardial microcirculatory function was enhanced with administration of GLP-1. However, GLP-1 treatment was not associated with a clinically significant improvement in post-resuscitation myocardial function.
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Comparative Study
The optimal phasic relationship between synchronized shock and mechanical chest compressions.
Pauses for shock delivery in chest compressions are detrimental to the success of resuscitation and may be eliminated with the use of mechanical chest compressors. However, the optimal phasic relationship between mechanical chest compression and defibrillation is still unknown. We therefore undertook a study to assess the effects of timing of defibrillation in the mechanical chest compression cycle on the defibrillation threshold (DFT) using a porcine model of cardiac arrest. ⋯ Defibrillation efficacy is maximal when electrical shock is delivered in the upstroke phase of mechanical chest compression.