Annals of emergency medicine
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Serial ECGs are less accurate than serial CK-MB results for emergency department diagnosis of myocardial infarction.
Serial creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) levels provide more accurate predictive information regarding myocardial infarction than serial ECGs in emergency department patients with chest discomfort and no ST-segment elevation on the initial ECG. ⋯ Serial changes in ECGs during a three- to four-hour interval were associated with the diagnosis of myocardial infarction but were infrequent and less accurate than serial CK-MB levels obtained for the same interval.
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To discover the frequency of agonal respirations in cardiac arrest calls, the ways callers describe them, and discharge rates associated with agonal respirations. ⋯ There is a high incidence of agonal activity associated with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Presence of agonal respirations is associated with increased survival. These findings have implications for public CPR training programs and emergency dispatcher telephone CPR programs.