Resuscitation
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Recent studies have found that poor cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is commonly performed in resuscitation attempts, both by health professionals and lay people. One of the contributing factors to poor performance of CPR may be poor initial teaching. This study was conducted to investigate the quality of 14 CPR courses complying with New Zealand Qualifications Authority standards, which includes formal assessment of CPR. ⋯ Importantly, in the majority of courses (71%), certification was granted when the CPR technique was performed incorrectly, with both compression depth and compression place being corrected only 57% of the time. Courses only discussed the importance of early defibrillation 57% of the time, and provided limited information on symptoms of acute coronary syndromes. In light of these observations it is suggested that the current style of teaching is unlikely to result in students being able to perform adequate CPR if required in the community.
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Cardiac arrest with ventricular fibrillation (VF) has been divided into three phases in which phase-specific therapy may improve outcome. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between call-to-shock time, bystander CPR (BCPR), and cardiac arrest outcomes. ⋯ BCPR did not significantly improve survival in any phase of OHCA, though there was a trend toward increased neurologically intact survival and increased ROSC with defibrillation alone in phase 3.