Resuscitation
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Multicenter Study
Cardiac arrest patients rarely receive chest compressions before ambulance arrival despite the availability of pre-arrival CPR instructions.
To determine the proportion of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OOHCA) patients who received chest compressions, before EMS arrival, from bystanders who called the EMS emergency telephone number (9-1-1) at dispatch centers that provided telephone CPR instructions and to describe barriers to following instructions. ⋯ Few 9-1-1 callers provided chest compressions following telephone CPR instructions that included airway and breathing steps. The majority of callers were unwilling or emotionally or physically unable to follow the instructions.
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Several studies using a variety of assessment approaches have demonstrated that young doctors possess insufficient resuscitation competence. The aims of this study were to assess newly graduated doctors' resuscitation competence against an internationally recognised standard and to study whether teaching site affects their resuscitation competence. ⋯ Newly graduated doctors do not have sufficient competence in managing cardiopulmonary arrests according to the current guidelines published by ERC. There were significant differences in ALS-competence between sites. Change in teaching and assessment practice in undergraduate emergency medicine courses is needed in order to increase the level of ALS-competence of newly graduated doctors.
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We sought to assess the prevalence of shock-induced sustained return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and neurologically intact discharge survival before (1990-1997) and after (1998-2006) transition to biphasic waveform defibrillation in our population-controlled EMS setting. ⋯ Return of sustained pulses with shocks alone increased after transition to biphasic waveform defibrillation, with no other differences to explain the increase. High survival was noted in both periods, with a trend toward higher survival in the second period.
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Although many different drugs and interventions have been studied in cardiac arrest to improve survival rates and neurological outcome, the results are still very poor. Magnesium (Mg) has important electrophysiological effects and normal concentrations are required to maintain regular cardiac conduction, rhythm and vascular tone, but its role in improving survival rates and neurological outcome in victims of cardiac arrest is not completely understood. ⋯ We found that there are very few data available about the role of Mg in the treatment of cardiac arrest. Although two non-randomised and one animal study reported promising results, the lack of high quality studies makes it impossible to recommend for or against the administration of Mg during or early after resuscitation to improve outcome.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
The effectiveness of cardiopulmonary resuscitation instruction: animation versus dispatcher through a cellular phone.
We developed a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) instruction programme using motion capture animation integrated into cellular phones. We compared the effectiveness of animation-assisted CPR instruction with dispatcher-assisted instruction in participants with no previous CPR training. ⋯ Audiovisual animated CPR instruction through a cellular phone resulted in better scores in checklist assessment and time interval compliance in participants without CPR skill compared to those who received CPR instructions from a dispatcher; however, the accuracy of important psychomotor skill measures was unsatisfactory in both groups.