Lancet
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Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and rewarming were successful in a 5-year-old boy who had been submerged for 40 minutes in ice-cold fresh water. Severe metabolic acidosis was corrected by intravenous infusion of sodium bicarbonate solution before spontaneous circulation could be re-established. ⋯ During 2 days of treatment of a respiratory the patient gradually regained consciousness; the endotracheal tube was then removed and the patient immediately started talking intelligently. The patient went through a period of slow cerebration and motor dysfunction but recovered rapidly, and on examination 13 months after the accident all findings were normal.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Comparison of arrhythmia computer and conventional monitoring in coronary-care unit.
Conventional methods of monitoring arrhythmias impose heavy demands on staff and are unreliable. On-line arrhythmia computers have been developed to overcome these problems, but there has been no critical evaluation of the functioning of such a system in a clinical setting. A comparison was made of the efficacy of two methods of monitoring in detecting arrhythmias in sixty-four patients in a coronary-care unit. ⋯ In 30 percent, treatment was delayed for several hours, and none was given in 52 percent. False alarms occurred with both systems but were more readily recognised as such in the computer-monitored patients. It is concluded that an arrhythmia computer improves the standards of arrhythmia detection, leads to quicker institution of treatment, and diminishes the demand on skilled staff.