Resuscitation
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Is the orientation of the apical defibrillation paddle of importance during manual external defibrillation?
Transthoracic impedance (TTI) is a factor determining the magnitude of the transmyocardial current during external defibrillation. Minimising TTI increases the chances of successful defibrillation. Most external defibrillation paddles are rectangular in shape and can, therefore, be placed in a transverse or longitudinal orientation. The apical paddle is often placed in a transverse orientation. This may theoretically result in a higher TTI than a longitudinal orientation because of poorer contact at the lateral paddle edges. We compared TTI with the apical paddle in both a transverse and longitudinal orientation. ⋯ The longitudinal orientation of a rectangular defibrillation paddle provides a lower TTI than orientation horizontally.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Factors influencing Queenslanders' willingness to perform bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
The chances of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) are greatly increased if a bystander provides cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) while awaiting the arrival of the emergency medical services. Over 50% of adult Queenslanders have been trained in CPR at some time in the past, however, little is known about the factors that affect their willingness to perform CPR. ⋯ This study indicates that there is considerable variation in Queenslanders' willingness to perform bystander CPR. Public health education campaigns aimed at correcting inaccurate perceptions of risk and addressing other barriers to bystander CPR would promote its use in response to OHCA.