Annals of emergency medicine
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Numerous studies have shown initiation of bystander CPR to significantly improve survival from prehospital cardiac arrest. However, in emergency medical services (EMS) systems with very short response times, bystander CPR has not been shown to impact outcome. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of bystander CPR on survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in such a system. ⋯ Our data revealed improved survival rates when bystander CPR was initiated on victims of witnessed cardiac arrest in an EMS system with short response times.
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It is feasible to apply prehospital 12-lead electrocardiography to most stable prehospital chest pain patients. Prehospital diagnostic accuracy is improved compared with single-lead telemetry. ⋯ It is feasible to apply prehospital 12-lead electrocardiography to most stable prehospital chest pain patients. Prehospital 12-lead ECGs have the potential to significantly increase the diagnostic accuracy in chest pain patients, approach congruity with ED 12-lead ECG diagnoses, and may allow for consideration of altering and improving prehospital and hospital-based management in this patient population.
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The anion gap (AG) is a helpful, yet underused, clinical tool. Not only does the presence of a high AG suggest a certain differential, but knowledge of the relationship between the rise in AG (delta AG) and the fall in bicarbonate (delta HCO3) is important in understanding mixed acid-based disorders. Simple arithmetic converts this relationship into a numerical value, the delta gap (delta gap). ⋯ If the delta gap is significantly positive (greater than +6), a metabolic alkalosis is usually present because the rise in AG is more than the fall in HCO3. Conversely, if the delta gap is significantly negative (less than -6), then a hyperchloremic acidosis is usually present because the rise in AG is less than the fall in HCO3. Familarity with the relationship between the changes in AG and HCO3 can be useful in unmasking occult metabolic disorders.