Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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There has been little research into the prehospital management of cardiac arrest following hanging despite it being among the most prevalent methods of suicide worldwide. The aim of this study was to report the characteristics, resuscitative treatment and outcomes of patients managed in the prehospital environment for cardiac arrest secondary to hanging and compare these with all-cause out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). ⋯ Clinical outcomes following OHCA due to hanging are poor, particularly when patients are transported while in cardiac arrest. Failure to ventilate was uncommon, and clinicians should be alert to the possibility of shockable rhythms developing during resuscitation.
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Emilia-Romagna was one of the most affected Italian regions during the COVID-19 outbreak in February 2020. We describe here the profound regional, provincial and municipal changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to cope with the numbers of patients presenting with COVID-19 illness, as well as coping with the ongoing need to care for patients presenting with non-COVID-19 emergencies. We focus on the structural and functional changes in one particular hospital within the city of Bologna, the regional capital, which acted as the central emergency hub for time-sensitive pathologies for the province of Bologna. Finally, we present the admissions profile to our emergency department in relation to the massive increase of infected patients observed in our region as well as the organisational response to prepare for the second wave of the pandemic.
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Staff use of smartphones and tablets in the healthcare setting is increasingly prevalent, but little is known about whether this use is acceptable to patients. Staff are concerned that the use of handheld electronic devices (HEDs) may be negatively misconstrued by patients. The HED can be a valuable tool, offering the emergency clinician access to a wealth of resources; it is therefore vital that patient views are addressed during their widespread adoption into clinical practice. ⋯ Our survey shows that the majority of survey respondents felt that clinical staff should be allowed to use HEDs in the workplace and that many of the concerns raised could be addressed with adequate patient information and clear governance.
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Several Chinese cities have implemented dispatcher-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DA-CPR), although out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survival rates remain low. We aimed to assess the process compliance, barriers and outcomes of OHCA in one of the earliest implemented (DA-CPR) programmes in China. ⋯ The OHCA survival rate and the DA-CPR process were far from optimal. The zero survival rate is disproportionally low compared with survival statistics in high-income countries. The prolonged delay in calling the emergency services negated and rendered futile any DA-CPR efforts. Thus, efforts targeted at developing public awareness of OHCA, calling for help and competency in DA-CPR should be increased.