Annals of emergency medicine
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Modifiable factors associated with improved cardiac arrest survival in a multicenter basic life support/defibrillation system: OPALS Study Phase I results. Ontario Prehospital Advanced Life Support.
This study was conducted to identify modifiable factors associated with survival for prehospital cardiac arrest in a large, multicenter EMS system with basic life support/defibrillation (BLS-D) level of care. ⋯ This represents the largest multicenter BLS-D study of prehospital cardiac arrest yet conducted and clearly indicates that patient survival may be improved by optimization of EMS response intervals, bystander CPR, as well as first-responder CPR by fire or police.
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Intraosseous administration of methylene blue may be an emergency alternative to intravascular administration. A 6-week-old female infant (3 kg) presented to the emergency department after a 1-week illness and appeared cyanotic and listless. Oxygen saturation by oximetry was 86% while the patient was receiving oxygen. ⋯ Three hours later, her methemoglobin level was 8.2%. The child recovered uneventfully and was sent home after 3 days. Intraosseous administration of standard intravenous doses of methylene blue rapidly terminated the effects of acquired methemoglobinemia.
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To document prehospital and inhospital time intervals from stroke onset to emergency department evaluation and to identify factors associated with presentation to the ED within 3 hours of symptom onset, the current time window for thrombolytic therapy. ⋯ The median time from stroke onset to ED evaluation was 5.7 hours, with almost a third of patients presenting within 3 hours. Use of EMS and white race were independently associated with arrival within 3 hours.
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Case Reports
Life-threatening diphenhydramine overdose treated with charcoal hemoperfusion and hemodialysis.
We describe a 35-year-old woman who ingested 16 g (approximately 20 mg/kg) of diphenhydramine with resultant hypotension requiring pressor support and marked QRS prolongation. After treatment with sodium bicarbonate failed to improve cardiac status, the patient underwent emergency charcoal hemoperfusion and hemodialysis with rapid improvement in the ECG findings within the first 40 minutes of treatment and with no further need for pressors. ⋯ However, our case suggests that charcoal hemoperfusion may be appropriate therapy in cases of massive diphenhydramine overdoses when standard supportive measures fail. This case represents the largest documented diphenhydramine overdose that resulted in survival.