Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Comparative Study
Does advanced age matter in outcomes after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in community-dwelling adults?
To assess whether advanced age is an independent predictor of survival to hospital discharge in community-dwelling adult patients who sustained an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in a suburban county. ⋯ There was a twofold decrease in survival following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest to discharge in patients aged 80 or more when compared with the reference group in this suburban county setting. However, resuscitation for community-dwelling elders aged 65-89 is not futile. These data support that out-of-hospital resuscitation of elders up to age 90 years is not associated with a universal dismal outcome.
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The educational goal of emergency medicine (EM) programs has been to prepare its graduates to provide care for a diverse range of patients and presentations, including pediatric patients. ⋯ Emergency medicine residents are exposed to PEM primarily by rotating through a general ED, the PED, and the PICU, being proctored by PEM and EM attendings and attending EM lectures and EM M&M conferences. Areas that may merit further attention for pediatric emergency training include experience in areas of neonatal resuscitation, pediatric M&M, and specific pediatric electives. This survey highlights the need to describe current educational strategies as a first step to assess perceived effectiveness.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
A randomized controlled trial to assess decay in acquired knowledge among paramedics completing a pediatric resuscitation course.
Critical pediatric illness or injury occurs infrequently in out-of-hospital settings, making it difficult for paramedics to maintain physical assessment, treatment, and procedure skills. ⋯ Although intensive out-of-hospital pediatric education enhances knowledge, that knowledge rapidly decays. Emergency medical services programs need to find novel ways to increase retention and ensure paramedic readiness.